Secretly friends
by eatmorecookies
Summary: Albus Potter and Scorpius Malfoy know that they're supposed to hate each other, but one day they find out that they actually have something common. Can they be friends in secret? Or perhaps something more than that? Wait and see
1. Chapter 1

**First day**

The train left the platform. Albus Severus Potter was about to enter his first year at Hogwarts. He wouldn't see his parents for months. He was scared to death. Before going on the train, he had asked his father what would happen if he was put in Slytherin. Harry had reassured him that it would be fine, that he could even chose house as he liked. It had calmed Albus down for a while, but as soon as the train left London, he went back to worrying.

It wouldn't be fine. He would end up in Slytherin; James would hate him and bully him even more than usual. The teachers, Uncle Ron, his cousins, everyone would be disappointed in him. He'd suffer forever!

Albus Severus Potter was an exact copy of his father, only younger. People expected him to be the new Harry Potter, captain of the Gryffindor Quidditch team, future Auror and hero. He would disappoint them all. And he wouldn't be able to tell the Sorting Hat which house he wanted to be sorted into. That was something only the famous Harry Potter, the Boy Who Lived, could do, because no one dared tell him what to do.

"Anything wrong, cousin?" Rose asked with concern. They sat alone on the train, fortunately. They didn't need awkward conversations with strangers just yet. Albus smiled at her and said he was all right.

"Just a little nervous, that's all." He shouldn't have said that. His dear cousin and best friend needed only those few words to start a long lecture on how it was completely natural to be a little nervous, how he could deal with the nerves and turn them into positive energy and courage. Not that she wasn't nervous, oh no, she was almost shaking with fear. What if she failed her first test, what if the Sorting Hat couldn't find a house for her, because she was so incompetent?

Albus tried to ignore his cousin's voice. Would she ever stop talking? He loved Rose, truly, but she could be so annoying sometimes. What was meant to be a comforting speech just made him even more nervous.

"But it will be okay, as long as we end up in the same house, right, Al?" He tried to smile, but his emotions kept telling him that he was a coward and an idiot, and that he would end up alone in Slytherin for sure. For the rest of the journey he remained in a state of silent self pity and fear.

They arrived at Hogwarts quite late in the evening. Seeing the huge, wonderful castle that was to be their home for many years to come made them both shiver in awe. It was beautiful and magnificent and wonderful and scary. Most of all scary. Albus almost wished James would take the boats with them, but he'd probably just scare him even more instead of comforting him. He'd probably just push Al into the Lake, and feed him to the monster that lived there. James had stopped by to bully him every time he'd had the chance on the train. Six years with James, without parents to protect him from brotherly love, awaited poor Albus. Could he possibly survive? Perhaps it would be nice to be in some other house than Gryffindor, just to have a place to hide from James.

When they stood outside the Great Hall, waiting for the Sorting Ceremony to begin, Rose grabbed Albus's sleeve and performed a nervous little dance. "I'm so excited! I've read so much about this place, and mum has told me everything she knows. It's so old and so full of powerful magic and it has such a long history. Can you imagine how many wizards and witches who've lived here? Think about how many friendships have been formed here! If you would guess, what percentage of all the British wizards have had their first kiss within these walls? I think it's about ninety percent…" Rose could have nattered on forever.

"Will you be quiet for once?" Albus snarled. "I'm about to freak out and you fill my head with even more things to worry about!"

Rose looked a bit perplexed. "Hey, Al, I'm supposed to be the neurotic one, remember? Calm down," she said with a smile. It actually helped a little. Until the doors opened.

"Merlin's beard!" Rose squealed. "This place is beautiful!" She held Albus's arm in a firm grip, not letting go for anything. "Look, there's James and his friends." He sat by the Gryffindor table with a splendid view of the little chair where the old Sorting Hat waited for them.

"Are you ready, Al?" Rose whispered as the Hat started to sing a funny little song about the different houses and the importance of making friends with other students, no matter where they came from, how they looked or which house they were sorted into.

"No, not at all," Al whispered back. After the Hat had finished his song, a young woman called Professor Twinkle started to call up one student after the other. They were called alphabetically, so they both had quite a long time to wait.

"Potter, Albus Severus!" the Professor said.

The Great Hall went totally quiet. People were excited; the second oldest son of The Chosen One was to be sorted. The Gryffindor students were cheering, smiling and waving at him, welcoming him to their table long before he'd even reached the chair. Albus took a deep breath and sat down. Twinkle placed the big hat on his head. It started yelling at once.

"Another Weasley! I can't believe it. Poor Professors, they have enough to worry about as it is." Albus was about to remind the Hat that his name was actually Potter, but decided to keep a friendly tone with the Hat, just to be sure it wouldn't put him somewhere bad just to be evil. Unfortunately, the Hat knew all of Al's thoughts.

"Oh, so you're a Potter as well. I could sense that, kid. Doesn't make much difference – you're as much of a Weasley as all of your cousins. And Potters are just as bad. Trouble, nothing but trouble, I tell you." That's what it told the rest of the students, who started to giggle, but to Al, it whispered something more.

"So, Potter, are you going to ask me to put you in Gryffindor, just like you're father and brother did? Oh yes, they both did. As soon as I mentioned that perhaps they could do well in Slytherin they started begging me to put them in Gryffindor. You're quite much of a Slytherin, young boy. I won't deny you could do great in Gryffindor, 'cause you would. You would do great in all of our houses, Potter. But you'd prefer being in Gryffindor, right? So that you can live with your family and your brother?"

To live with his family: Rose and his other cousins. That'd be great, Al thought. But James? No, he didn't want to spend more time with his brother than absolutely necessary.

"So you don't want me to put in Gryffindor?" the Hat whispered. "As far away from your brother as possible, you say? Well then; I'll put you in Slytherin. This will be good for old Salazar's house, to get the youngest Potter boy. The green and silver colours do not symbolize evil and dark magic. You, young Potter, will show the world how great Slytherin can be. You'll convince them that Slytherin is just as good as Gryffindor, Hufflepuff or Ravenclaw. This should be a great opportunity for you, Potter. I think you'll feel at home in Slytherin." The last word was pronounced loudly for the entire school to hear.

They gasped in shock. Harry Potter's son, a Slytherin. Albus could see all the disappointed faces around him. He searched for his brother, expecting to see a mocking grin. But James just looked shocked, and perhaps a little sad as he watched his younger brother walk to the Slytherin table. He sat down with his face looking towards Rose. She smiled supportively at him. She was sorted into Gryffindor, of course, but only after the Hat putted up a show, pretending to sob and whine about all those Weasley kids. "I should suggest that poor Headmaster McGonagall retire early."

Albus was very relieved when it all was over. Yes, he'd ended up in Slytherin, he was going to be hated by half the school for betraying traditions and all, but he still had Rose and his family. Some kids came to Hogwarts not knowing anyone, not knowing anything about this world, because they were raised by Muggles. They were probably even more scared than him.

Everything got a lot better as soon as the feast started. Delicious dishes appeared on the table. The Slytherin students were a lot nicer than what James had told him, and they were really happy to have Albus with them. They wondered if he was a good Seeker, since they needed a new one. Joining the Quidditch team as a first year was a Potter tradition after all. Al couldn't compete with his father and brother, but he promised to try his best if the other Slytherin students wanted him on the team. Perhaps he would feel at home in Slytherin.

There were only three boys and three girls in their year who were put in Slytherin. The girls giggled a lot when they found out, and Albus could hear them whisper to each other.

"We can have one each!" a girl with blonde curls said.

The two other girls were twins, but they didn't look anything alike at all. One of them, Eirian had black hair, longer than anything Albus had ever seen before. The other one, Frida, had short, brown hair. Eirian was quiet and thoughtful, while Frida was full of energy.

"What do you mean?" Frida asked.

"I mean that we can have one boyfriend each." The blonde girl was a muggleborn named April Winter.

"Ew! I don't want a boyfriend," Frida said with a horrified expression on her face. Her sister didn't seem to hear anything, or perhaps she just didn't care to answer. It didn't look like she paid attention to the conversation at all.

"Why not? Of course you want a boyfriend," April insisted. "But you can't choose Potter, he's mine."

Frida had to think about that for a while. "Okay. If I absolutely _must_ have a boyfriend, I'll take Malfoy."

Eirian seemed to smile a little at that, even though she was looking another way and apparently not listening.

The third boy, Matt Flint, asked Malfoy if the boys shouldn't have a say in this as well. Malfoy didn't seem to care; he just continued to eat his pumpkin pie in silence. Al looked at the girls. They were all a little weird, but they seemed nice. They could probably be friends, but Al wasn't really interested. What did he need girls for? He had Rose, didn't he? And his sister, and a bunch of cousins. That was more than enough girls for one little boy.

When night came, the boys went to bed. Albus chose a bed as far away from the door as possible. Malfoy chose a bed as far away from Al as possible. They knew they were supposed to hate each other. None of the boys said good night before falling asleep.


	2. Chapter 2

_A/N: __Hi! This is my first fanfic, and here is the second chapter. _

_I've only had someone beta read the first chapter, so if you spot any spelling/grammar mistakes please tell me _:)

_This story will eventually be quite long, and I might give it a higher rating _;)

_I __hope you'll like it!_

* * *

><p><strong>A new home<strong>

Days and weeks passed. Albus and Malfoy never talked to each other unless it was absolutely necessary. None of them spoke much with Flint either as he turned out to be an idiot. He spent his time ditching class, sneaking into the girls' dorm, fighting students _and_ teachers plus beating up any muggleborn student he met. Al was fed up with him by breakfast the first morning and hated him before lunch the same day. Fortunately for Al, Flint got a lot of detention, so he didn't see him much.

Albus was soon the favourite of many teachers. He was one of the best students in both Defence against the Dark Arts and Potions, he joined the Quiddich team almost immediately, as seeker of course, and he rarely did anything wrong. At least nothing that would be noticed or considered bad compared to Matt Flint's behaviour.

It turned out that being sorted into Slytherin wasn't as horrible as Albus had feared after all. Not even his brother had bugged him about it. James had in fact been very nice to Al lately. He even came to see if his little brother was all right after being sorted into Slytherin. It was nice, but strange as well. Thanks to James, Rose and a few other members of the Weasley clan, Al was also allowed to hang out in the Gryffindor common room. He made a lot of new friends, not only from Gryffindor and Slytherin, but also the other houses. As the Sorting Hat had predicted, Al began to feel at home.

The other Slytherins seemed to love having Al in their house as well. He was friendly and polite, and he always agreed to help his classmates with difficult homework. He was funny and (according to some of the girls) very cute. He also gained a lot of house points, being very smart and always giving the correct answers in class. And thanks to him they won most of their Quidditch matches.

The most exciting game was when they played against Gryffindor, where James played Seeker. Wherever Al went he could hear people discussing and placing bets. Both Potters were extraordinary good flyers. James had never missed a Snitch since he joined the team the year before, but Albus was smaller and quicker. This was not a match between two houses, but between two brothers, they said. In fact, it was a match between Albus and the rest of his family! His cousins Fred and Louis were Chasers, and the rest of the Weasleys were cheering for Gryffindor.

Al hadn't been that nervous since his first day at Hogwarts. He knew that James was better than him. They had played several times in the backyard at home. James always won. Even Lilly was better than Al. But Lilly was better than anyone, though; even their father lost to her.

"Ready to lose, little brother?" James said right before they went down to the Quidditch pitch.

"James, you're a dreamer. You'll never win this match," Al replied, acting way cooler than he actually felt.

"Wait and see, Al."

It was only minutes before the game started. All the teachers and students had been looking forward to this match for weeks. The expectations had actually been so high that Harry Potter and a few other parents were invited to watch.

The cold November rain made everyone soaking wet, long before the match began. Al could almost see his father sitting next to the Headmaster and a few others. Slytherin's team captain went through the tactics one last time.

"Potter, we're counting on you."

But Albus didn't want them to count on him. He wanted his team mates to score over a hundred and fifty points while he distracted James. There was just no way Al could catch the Snitch before his brother. He told his captain this, but no one believed him.

The game started and Albus did what he usually did. He drifted around, trying to get a glimpse the Snitch while watching his brother's movements. It took almost half an hour before the Snitch showed itself. It was drifting peacefully right behind Gryffindor's keeper. Slytherin had a hundred and ten points. Gryffindor had none. The green and silver coloured team could win this, as long as Al managed to keep James from taking the small, golden ball.

Unfortunately, James saw the Snitch as well and raced towards it. Al followed, but none of them reached it. The Snitch was too quick and Al noticed that his team scored more points. The two brothers raced around chasing the vicious ball. They tried to trick each other, they tried to knock each other of their brooms, but today they were equal. Al felt that he had finally reached James' level.

_I can do this,_ he thought. _I can catch the Snitch before James. Slytherin can win this match!_ This new confidence helped him. He was almost there, he could almost reach the Snitch, and James was far behind him now. Just a little bit further and he'd win! One inch closer now, and the game would be over. Piece of cake! Suddenly James appeared out of nowhere and took the Snitch, right before Al's nose.

No words could ever describe the disappointment Al felt at that moment. The crowd was cheering, but inside Al's head it was quiet. All he could hear was his own heart beating. He flew down, landed on the ground and waited for his team mates to scold him. But instead he was met with hugs and laughter!

Slytherin had actually won the match. They had scored one hundred and sixty points, and their keeper was brilliant. Not one Quaffle had slipped past her.

"You did a great job today, Al," she said and smiled.

* * *

><p>The two brothers met their father after the game. Harry was very proud of both of his sons.<p>

"Had my old friend Oliver Wood been here today, he'd ask the both of you to quit school, and join his team at once," he said with a smile. "Al, you have really improved yourself. Almost took the Snitch! Too bad you fell for the Hermione-trick, though."

"What's the Hermione-trick?" Al asked. He had never heard of that before.

"That is the only way Aunt Hermione can do anything good while playing Quidditch. You know how poorly she plays. The only way she can take the Quaffle from anyone is to pretend she's even worse than she actually is. The person holding the Quaffle will feel safe, and then she'll surprise us all and grab the Quaffle. Unfortunately, her flying skills are very bad, so she usually falls off of her broom immediately after performing that trick."

After James had left, Albus stayed to talk a little more with his father.

"So," Harry said, "how is Slytherin? You don't tell us much in the few letters you write."

"It's fine," Al answered, a bit nervous and afraid of letting his father down. "Actually I… sort of… told the Hat to put me in Slytherin. Not directly, though, but in a way I asked for it."

Harry Potter looked amused. "Really? Well, that's impressive, Al. How did that happen?"

Albus told his father the entire story; how he had asked the Hat for a house were he wouldn't need to be near his brother at all, how he joined the Quidditch team and made a lot of new friends. He told Harry about the twins, about the teachers and about Flint.

They talked for an hour before Harry ended the conversation.

"They're probably waiting for you down in the dungeons, Albus. You don't want to miss the celebration, do you?"

He had almost forgotten that his team actually had won the match, despite Al's personal failure. He hugged his father goodbye and ran down to the Slytherin common room to join the party.

* * *

><p>All the Slytherin students were there. Butterbeer was served and music was played. Some students were dancing in the middle of the common room; others were playing games, telling stories or bragging about their Quidditch skills. But one boy was sitting alone, in a corner all by him self. Matt Flint. Al really resented that guy, but he still felt a bit sorry for him. So he decided to go over and talk to him. Which was a bad decision.<p>

"Hi, Flint," Al said. "Are you enjoying the party?" Judging from Flint's facial expression, the answer was clearly "no," but Al asked anyway. Just to be polite.

"No," Flint answered. End of discussion.

But Al wasn't giving up that easily. "Come on, cheer up," he said. "We won the game. We might even win the house cup! This is a celebration, Flint. No need to sit here and sulk." No matter how hard Al tried, he could not get a decent response from his class mate. "Well, I'll definitely go and have some fun," he said. "See you later."

Al left and headed for the crowd were he could see Frida showing off her drawing skills. She was making caricatures of all the teachers, and they were probably very funny, because everyone who watched were laughing and placing orders. One of the older students promised to make copies of them and post them all over the school. Unfortunately Al would have to wait until then if he wanted to see the drawings himself.

A strong hand grabbed his shoulder and jerked him backwards. Al turned around to see Flint, angrier than ever.

"Who do you guys think you are?" he screamed. "As if I care about the game, or the house cup, or anything else here in this hole." Everything went completely silent, and all attention was now directed towards the two first years.

"Calm down, Flint," Al said. "I didn't mean to offend you."

"Don't tell me to calm down," Flint bellowed. "And don't think that any of you blood traitors can offend me! You think you are some sort of hero, Potter, just because your father _saved_ the world. You're not a saint. You think that everyone loves you, just because of your father, but you're wrong. I hate you, Potter. And I don't give a damn about this place, or any of you guys. So just get out of my way," he said and pushed everyone aside. He headed towards the dormitory and disappeared.

"What was that all about?" Frida asked, perplexed.

"I have no idea."


	3. Chapter 3

**Two mistakes**

When Al returned to his room that night, Flint wasn't there. Al didn't even bother to go and look for him. It wasn't the first time, and Flint usually showed up again the next day.

Al was wondering if he should feel sorry for Flint. There had to be a reason for his bad behaviour. Perhaps he had problems at home. For some reason, Al doubted that. Flint often bragged about his father, saying he was powerful, strong and rich. His mother always sent him presents, something Flint seemed to like.

The thing Al couldn't possibly understand was why Flint acted like he did. His family was rich, and his parents gave him everything he asked for, so why would he steal from his classmates? Most of the students had tried to be nice to him, at least at the beginning of the year, but they only got glares and profanities in return. He intentionally harmed other students. Why did Flint beat up his classmates, force them to do his homework for him and give him their money? Al had no idea.

"Perhaps he just doesn't like other people," Frida suggested. It was a Saturday evening in the beginning of December. Albus, April and the twins were in the common room together, doing homework, drawing, reading and discussing Matt Flint.

"I've heard that his mother comes from a family of death eaters," April Winter whispered. "You know how he always bullies us muggleborn students."

"Do you really think he's like that?" Frida asked.

April shrugged. "I don't know. I'm just saying that maybe that's the reason. He believes that pure-blooded wizards are superior."

Frida looked shocked. "Really? Does he really believe that?" she asked, gasping.

"I don't know, Frida! It's just a guess."

"But still! What if it's true, April? What do you think, Eirian?"

Eirian just shrugged. She didn't seem to pay any attention to the conversation, as usual. Her left hand was writing something down in a note book, but her eyes were fixed on a painting on the wall. Her right hand held a cup of tea. It had been cold for hours.

Al wondered if he would ever understand that girl. He had never heard her voice, and never looked her in the eyes. She was a mystery. She was always around, physically present, but she was never really there. Her shiny, dark hair against the pale skin of her face made her look almost scary. Still, Al liked her very much. Even though she was too quiet, and spiritually absent, she was nice and friendly in a way. Al could tell that she liked him too.

When Eirian was spacing out like she was now, Al always had a feeling that she was actually concentrating really hard on something. She was a wise girl, and Al believed that she knew a lot more than what everyone seemed to think. Whenever Frida asked her a question, Eirian just shrugged. Most people thought that Eirian was just stupid, but Al felt that the two twins were actually communicating. He thought that the shrugs and smiles were complex answers, and that Frida understood what Eirian meant.

"Well," Frida said. "Flint can't possibly keep this up much longer. One day he'll make a mistake, and then he's gonna pay for all his evil deeds."

* * *

><p>It turned out that Frida was right. During the second week of February, Matt Flint made two grave mistakes. The first was to offend a Weasley. Offending a Weasley is never a good idea, because if you mess with a Weasley, you mess with them all. That's a lot of people to have as enemies. The Weasley clan is huge! They always stick together, and they always support each other. So when Flint got up that morning, he should have given more thought to whose homework he should steal.<p>

It was Monday afternoon, and Albus and James Potter were on their way to serve detention in the trophy room when they heard a familiar, high pitched voice just around the corner.

"No, Flint, you'll have to write that paper yourself! And I will _not_ let you copy mine either!"

The Potter brother ran to see Rose Weasley facing Matt Flint in an empty hallway. She was short, slender and red-faced. He was tall, sturdy and mean.

"Just, hand it over, Weasley, or I'll take it by force."

"Well, then do so," Rose squealed.

Flint never got the chance, though, because at that moment, James arrived and jerked him away from Rose. The oldest Potter boy slammed the slightly larger Flint against the wall.

"What, do you think you're doing to my cousin?" James screamed.

"I do what I want, blood traitor!" James was no match for Flint, despite the age difference, and Flint began to hammer away on the older boy.

"Hey, Flint! What are you doing?" Albus tried to come to his brother's rescue, but it was no use. Flint managed easily to take on both the Potters. Rose tried to stop the boys, but what could a tiny girl like her do in a fight between three strong boys? She ended up getting dragged into the fight as well. Someone must have heard the noise they were making, because soon several teachers came to stop the fight. The four students were all brought to the headmaster's office.

"Detention, two weeks, all of you!" McGonagall said fiercely.

After half an hour of explanations James managed to shorten Al's detention, and Rose was excused, since she had only tried to stop the fight. After that, they were taken to the hospital wing. James had two broken fingers and bruises all over his face. Al had a huge cut on his upper arm after being pushed into a miniature unicorn statue. Nothing that couldn't be fixed, of course, but enough to anger the entire Weasley clan. Flint was now officially an enemy of the Weasleys.

All of Al's cousins helped. They started to follow him around, and whenever he tried to hurt someone weaker than himself, a red haired boy or girl would show up out of nowhere. There were fights daily, and by Wednesday the nurse refused to heal any bruises caused by fighting. But that wasn't enough to stop the Weasleys. They left the task of healing to Victoire.

She created a makeshift infirmary in an empty classroom. After finishing school, Victoire was planning to become a professional healer, and she already knew a lot about how to fix small wounds and bruises.

"Dominique," Victoire sighed. "Look at your face! It's all swollen and blue, you look awful."

Dominique answered with a grin. "I don't agree at all, sister. My new skin colour makes a fine complementary contrast to my orange hair, doesn't it, Louis?"

It was hard to tell whether Louis agreed or not, his head was all wrapped up in bandages and the weird sounds he was making could be both crying and laughter.

"I don't like that you participate in this fighting, Dominique," Victoire said. "Now, does it hurt anywhere else?"

"My arm hurts really badly," Dominique answered. "It might be broken."

Victoire examined her sister's arm for a while before she stated, disappointedly, that her arm was definitely broken. "You'll have to go to the nurse with this, Dom."

"I'd rather have you fix it," the younger sister said.

"No, that's not going to happen. I'm taking you to the nurse."

"Oh, please, don't, Victorie!"

And that's how it was, each day, in Victoire's little infirmary. But fortunately, they didn't have to keep it up for very long, because Flint was soon to make his second big mistake that week.

* * *

><p>It happened the following Friday. Albus, Fred and Lucy were there at the time, just outside the Charms classroom. The Weasleys were as always watching Flint, in secret, to make sure he didn't do anything stupid again. Frida and Eirian were also there, waiting for Professor Twinkle. Albus didn't really hear what Flint said to Frida, and he hoped he never would, because he could see on Eirian's expression that it was something really horrible. It was as if Eirian woke up from her permanent trance, her eyes stared straight into Flint's, her mouth twisted in an awful scowl, and for the first time, Al heard her voice.<p>

It was deep and rough, not like a man's, but like something ancient and horrifying. It sent chills down his spine, and he could almost sense the entire castle trembling.

"How dare you insult my sister?" she roared.

The Weasleys rushed over, and they saw that Flint was terrified. Al couldn't tell what it was, but he knew there was more to this fight than what met the eye. It seemed as if Eirian had some kind of unnatural control over Flint. Not like a spell or a curse, more like a hypnosis. It lasted for several moments, until Frida placed her hand on her sister's shoulder. Only then did Eirian calm down.

The whole thing was over in just a few minutes. Frida took her sister's arm, and together they walked away from the corridor, leaving Flint panting against a wall. He stood there, breathless, for several minutes before he ran away.

Al never saw him again. The next morning, all of Flint's belongings were gone from their dorms, and Professor Twinkle announced during breakfast that Matt Flint had been expelled. For life.

Al was both happy and a little nervous about Flint being gone. He didn't need to worry about seeing his friends being bullied again, but he had never believed in the possibility to be expelled! Fred and James on the other hand were disappointed.

"We never really got to play any of our good tricks on him," Fred grinned.

Fred grinned. "At least we managed to put a thing or two in his morning pumpkin juice."

"Oh, not again! You'll definitely get in trouble," Lucy complained. "What did you guys do this time?"

"Let's just say that Flint soon will develop a nasty, purple rash all over his private parts."

* * *

><p>The rest of the year passed quickly, and nothing really special happened. Eirian went back to her silent old self before anyone else got to hear her voice. Al didn't notice much difference in the Slytherin dorms. It was just as quiet as it had been, but his belongings ceased to disappear. When summer came, Al was both sad and happy. He'd get to see his parents again; he hadn't seen them since Christmas. But going home also meant saying goodbye to his friends. And worst of Al: he had to live with James.<p>

When they finally arrived in London, after hugging his parents, Al ran over to his friends to say goodbye.

Frida gave him a quick hug and looked at Al with sad eyes. "Well," she said. "This isn't goodbye after all. See you next year, Potter."

Eirian said nothing as usual, but to Al's surprise, she placed a pale hand on his shoulder and smiled. He grinned back and knew exactly what she had meant. _Goodbye, Al. I'm going to miss you too._

* * *

><p><em>AN: \o/_

_Thanks for the reviews! And don't feel sorry for Flint._

_Please let me know what you think :)_

_Next chapter will be up quite soon. Probably..._


	4. Chapter 4

A/N: Short one, but necessary :)

* * *

><p><strong>Back again<strong>

Al was unpacking his things. It was his first day as a second year student at Hogwarts. At the other end of the room was Scorpius Malfoy. They had not said a word to each other yet, even though they had been together for hours. Nothing weird about that really, that's how it used to be.

Al finished unpacking quickly, so he had time to read a little before having to turn off the light. He had reached a very exciting part of a muggle fantasy book he was reading. Albus immediately got lost in a magnificent world that didn't even exist. It was way past midnight when he realized that he still had his light turned on. Malfoy didn't seem to care; he was reading as well.

Malfoy noticed that Al had stopped reading.

"Want me to turn the light off?" he asked and put his book aside.

"If you want to turn it off, just turn it off. I don't mind," Al replied. "I can sleep with the lights on."

"Then I'll finish this chapter first."

Strange. They'd had a conversation. That was unusual. Albus fell asleep wondering if he liked having conversations with Malfoy or not.

The same thing happened the next evening, and the one after. They were soon used to reading as long as they liked and turning the light off whenever they wanted. Or when a prefect came to draw house points or hand out detentions.

Al felt that he and Malfoy was a bit closer now. They had something in common. They both loved reading. Al read mostly fantasy and science fiction. It was a nice distraction from the real world, taking him on journeys to places that didn't exist. Malfoy seemed to prefer mystery novels.

It was a Saturday in the end of October, and Al was alone in the dormitory, reading as usual.

He wasn't alone for long. Suddenly Malfoy appeared after a late breakfast.

"What are you reading?"

"Uhm…" Al was a bit startled. He hadn't expected Malfoy to talk to him. "It's _The Last Journey of Marvin the Muggle_."

Scorpius Malfoy seemed to be interested. "You must really like it. I've seen you reading it many times."

Al didn't quite know how to respond. He was too surprised. Malfoy had talked to him! Malfoy had been nice and friendly! Albus had never imagined that Malfoy could be friendly.

The two Slytherins started talking. They discussed books for an hour. Al agreed to let Malfoy read his book, and that's how he introduced Malfoy to the world of fantasy literature. It was a wonderful day, and the two Slytherins almost forgot that they were not supposed to be friends.

In the late evenings, Al and Malfoy started to talk more to each other, occasionally reading aloud particularly good parts of their books. Outside of their dorms they were still strangers. They actually found it quite amusing to bully each other when they met in the corridors. Only the two of them knew that it was just a show.

The two of them plus Rose of course. She knew everything, because Al told her. Never had Al kept anything secret from his cousin, and never had she hidden anything from him. It had always been that way, and it always would.

Although Rose often spent time in the dungeons with Al, she never talked to Malfoy more than Al had the year before. Once in a while, Al would try to make his two friends meet each other, because he thought it would be nice if Rose and Malfoy could be friends as well. He failed.

Rose and Malfoy just couldn't get along. They were too much alike. They both loved to be best at everything, and usually they were. They were very competitive, jealous and stubborn; trying to discuss anything with them was hopeless.

After a few weeks, Al gave up forcing his friends to like each other. Perhaps it was for the best. At least he wouldn't have to worry about having his friend fall in love and run away with his cousin, leaving Al all alone. Rose laughed at him when he told her.

"As if I would ever fall in love with someone like him. He talks too much, thinks he knows everything. And he's always hiding behind one of his books as if reading is the most important thing in the world. Just like you," she said with a snort.

"Or just like you," Al pointed out. Rose glared at him, and Al made a mental note never to compare her with Malfoy again.

* * *

><p>When summer came, Al couldn't understand that a whole school year had passed. It felt like a month, maybe less. Still, so much had happened. He'd gotten a new friend, they'd won the house cup together, Al had been hit on by an older girl and learned so many new spells. It was so strange, almost unbelievable. And now they were all returning to their own homes. Albus and Rose were going to spend most of the summer in a huge house owned by the Weasleys, hidden somewhere in a far away forest. It was a great place for Quidditch, reading and avoiding James. All of their cousins, aunts and uncles would be there. Even Uncle Charlie would come home from Romania.<p>

The summer would be awesome, and Al looked forwards to it more than ever.


	5. Chapter 5

**Conversations**

"Al, I don't like this Scorpius Malfoy. He has a bad influence on you."

Rose was in Al's dormitory, sitting on his bed. Scorpius Malfoy was somewhere else, probably studying.

"How? We only read books. Last time I checked, you had no problems with books. "

"You have been given detention quite often lately." She stared at him, an accusing look in her eyes.

"Rose, remember that you're my cousin, please. Not my mother. And the detention thing is nothing new. I got loads of detentions last year. And they have nothing to do with Malfoy. They're all because of James and his stupid ideas."

"Al…" She just looked at him from behind one of her heavy books, clearly disappointed. Without saying anything else, she continued reading. Al watched her tuck a strand of red, fuzzy hair behind her ear. It stayed there for a few seconds before it fell down into her eyes again, blocking her sight. She tried again, but her hair seemed to ignore her wishes. After her seventh attempt failed, she forced all of her hair into a ponytail. Unfortunately, the misbehaving lock was too short to fit into this new hairstyle, and once again, it fell down.

The rage appeared on Rose's face in the form of an angry shade of red. Al could almost see the steam blowing out of his cousin's ears.

"Albus Severus Potter!" she screamed. "Wipe that grin off you face right now. Or I'll hex you into oblivion!"

* * *

><p>"Potter?" Malfoy asked. He was sitting on his bed in the Slytherin dormitory. The room was a mess. School books, parchment and quills were everywhere; on the beds, under the beds and all over the floor.<p>

"Yes?"

"I was just wondering… Do you know what Frida and Eirian's surname is?"

"Uhm… No, why?"

"Just wondering… All of the teachers use their first names."

"Hm…" Al had never given much thought to the matter, but now that Malfoy had asked, Al got very curious. The two boys were silent for a long while.

"What do you think of them? They are quite strange, but you seem to be friends with them."

Al smiled. "Yes, we are friends, but I still think they are weird."

"Hm… I've heard that they had something to do with Matt Flint being expelled last year."

Albus knew of course what had happened, but he didn't want to tell Malfoy. He guessed that the twins wanted it to remain a secret.

"I'd like to get to know them, though," Malfoy continued.

Al just smiled and opened his book to read the last chapter of his favourite book.

* * *

><p>Rose and Albus were in the Gryffindor common room together, working on a particularly nasty assignment from Professor Cygnus. Al was almost finished, having discussed it a few times with Malfoy already.<p>

"Al, I feel that Hogwarts is a bit too easy for us," Rose said with confidence.

Al did not agree! Not that Rose would care about that.

"Don't you think it would be fun to challenge ourselves a bit? Increase our knowledge about magic? Or maybe about muggles and their sciences. Wouldn't that be exiting, Albus? You know, I have some great plans for next year. But I won't tell you about them yet."

Al didn't even bother answering. He knew that when Rose had decided something for him, he had no choice but to obey.

* * *

><p>"What subjects are you taking next year, Potter?" a Gryffindor named Jamie Thomas whispered to him. They were in the library, studying for their exams. Rose was there as well, along with a friend from Ravenclaw.<p>

"Dunno..." Al said, hardly bothering to answer at all. "Anything but Divination is fine, really."

"Why not? It's so exciting! And easy. Think about it, Albus. You can get good grades, without having to work hard at all. And you'll learn how to see the future. Come on, you've got to admit that it sounds like fun!" Jamie was talking like crazy, trying to convince Albus into taking Divination in his third year.

Why did she care? What was it to her? Al wished she would stop asking him about his choices, and start worrying about her own. Seriously, was she going to take Divination? The silliest subject at the entire school!

Jamie soon got tired of not getting any real answers and left. Rose just glared at her back.

"Divination!" she hissed. "Divination? 'Reading the future in crystal balls,' as if that's possible. It's just ridiculous. Even my mother says it's stupid, and she loves everything that has anything to do with school."

"I know," Albus muttered, hoping it would prevent his cousin from giving the entire clairvoyance speech once more.

"It's not a real science, it's…"

"I know, Rose!"

* * *

><p>Like all other nights, Albus and Scorpius stayed up too late, reading and forgetting to go to bed.<p>

"Potter, have you noticed that the two wizards in _Marvin the Muggle_ are exactly like us?"

"No, how? They're evil, aren't they? And stupid…"

"Yes," Malfoy said enthusiastically. "But they look exactly like us. One is pale and blonde, with a 'rather small nose' and 'long, slender fingers.' And the other one has dark, unruly hair, a freckled face and green eyes. Just like you."

"Then I'm Cole, and you are Syd. Damn, is that footsteps?"

"Probably a prefect, turn your light off!" Scorpius whispered, "Good night, Cole."

"Good night, Syd."

* * *

><p>When Al walked back to the Slytherin common room after studying in the library with Rose one evening, he met the twins outside of Professor Twinkle's office. They were on their way out, probably heading back to the dungeons.<p>

"Good morning, Albus Severus," Frida said joyfully. It wasn't morning at all, but Al was used to Frida being a little… odd.

"Hi, guys," he replied and smiled.

They walked in silence for a while until Frida finally whispered, "Can you keep a secret, Albus Severus Potter? I'll tell you because I know I can trust you, but you must promise not to say it to anyone else."

"I won't tell anyone," Al reassured her.

"Scorpius Malfoy… he's… extremely hot. So sexy…" She probably didn't see Al's shocked face, because she just kept going. "I mean, when I see him, I just want to kiss him, and rip his clothes of and be alone with him for hours. Merlin, I'd marry him right now if I could! Maybe I'm too young to be thinking these things, but I just can't help it."

Al didn't know what to say! He had never thought that cute, little Frida – who had been disgusted with the idea of having a boyfriend the year before – could even think about such things. He looked at Eirian, hoping that she'd at least react to Frida's words, but she didn't.

"Ah… Good to say that out loud!" She stopped walking, grabbed Al's arms and looked him in the eyes. "I knew you'd understand. Or at least you will soon. You're lucky to friends with him, Albus Severus Potter," she said and smiled.

"But I'm not friends with him," Al said. How could she possibly know?

Frida winked at him, then she let go and walked away hand in hand with her twin sister.

Al didn't understand anything of what had happened, but of course, that wasn't unusual when the twins were involved.

* * *

><p>Al's second year at Hogwarts was over, and he was packing his things again, ready to leave for the train.<p>

"It seems quit unnecessary, don't you think?" Scorpius asked. "Packing all of our belongings each time. We'll be back in September, and it's not as if I'll need my uniform during the summer. Can't I just leave it here?"

"Well," Albus answered. "The house elves might start to wonder and throw it away or think you missed the train and begin looking for you."

Scorpius laughed, "Maybe it's just tradition to bring your clothes home, because in the past, when house elves were slaves, if you gave one clothes, it would be free. That would be hilarious! A few students decided to leave their clothes here at Hogwarts over summer, and all of the house elves would think that they'd been left for them, and there would be no one left to clean the castle!"

"I don't think that's the reason."

"It would be fun, though," Scorpius said and smiled.

"When we pack our things for the last time, after our seventh year, we should leave some kind of trace. Potter and Malfoy lived here. We can hide it, and one day someone will find it and wonder who left it."

"Maybe we should," Scorpius said. "Well, see you after summer, Cole. Send me an owl when you get to the summer house."

"I will, Syd," Al said and watched his friend leave.

* * *

><p><em>AN: Had to edit this a little, because I realized that I had written Clairvoyance instead of Divination. I was just beeing lazy and forgot to check if Clairvoyance was the original name or just the Norwegian translation. Of course, Divination is the original name, and now I've fixed that :) Sorry... _


	6. Chapter 6

_** A/N: I love uploading new chapters =D **_

* * *

><p><strong>Letters and <strong>**visit****ors **

It was just a weak after they had left Hogwarts for summer that Al received a letter from Malfoy.

Dear Cole,

I convinced my father to take me to a muggle bookstore a few days ago. I realized that muggles have an extraordinary good imagination. Just as you told me, they write about magic and dragons and all sorts of strange universes. It's very amusing to read what they think dragons are like. I've bought a few books that looked promising. I am looking forward to seeing you again in September,

Syd

Al hurried to write an enthusiastic response. He was at the family summerhouse with most of his relatives. It was an enormous house, but he still had to share room with Rose. They had shared that room as long as Al could remember. No sane person would allow Al to share room with James.

Albus and Rose's room was bright and simple. It was on the third floor and they had a huge window with view to a beautiful lake. There were hardly anything inside the room, only two single beds, a desk and a wardrobe. Al thought it was wonderful.

He and Rose could sit in that room for hours doing what they always did: nothing. They would just talk or read or think. Al loved to think, it made him feel special. There was always someone who looked like him or behaved the way he did. He was always compared to his father, brother or other relatives. Only when he was alone, just thinking, did he really feel that he was Albus Severus Potter. Not James Sirius Potter's Younger Brother, not The Son of the Chosen One, not The One with Lilly Evans' Eyes and not Another Weasley Kid. Most people knew him as one of those, but if they had taken a look inside Al's head, his thoughts and secret fantasies, they would see a person different from anyone else. They would see Albus.

That did not mean that Al wanted anyone to see inside his mind. His mind was a private place and he'd rather remain Harry Potter's Son than pay the price of becoming Only Albus, No One Else. What would he do if James knew all of his thoughts? Quit school, run away and hide in a country far away? If James knew about Al's friendship with Malfoy, or what he had seen James do with Diana Finnigan down by the Quidditch pitch one afternoon, the youngest brother would surely suffer cruel punishments such as getting his trousers vanished in the middle of the Great Hall or worse.

Later that summer, Al had to share his room with someone else as well. Jamie Thomas. Apparently Jamie's father, Ron and Harry had been in Gryffindor together back when they went to Hogwarts. Jamie and her family were spending a few days at the Potter-Weasley summerhouse. This was a problem. Al did not want to share room with Jamie Thomas.

He didn't hate her, they were actually quite good friends. But she was a girl! And he was a guy. Sharing room with a girl was just wrong. What if he wanted a little privacy? He begged his parents; wouldn't they please let him sleep somewhere else? He'd even accept a filthy old mattress on the floor in James, Louis and Fred's room.

"But, Al! What's the problem with sharing your room with Jamie? You're friends, aren't you?" his mother asked him with a questioning look on her face. She obviously didn't understand what the problem was. Jamie was a girl. He'd have to change his clothes in the bathroom every morning, instead of just changing in his room! When Al told Ginny this she just laughed at him. "But you share room with Rose. She's a girl too!"

Stupid mother, she just couldn't understand. Al had to go outside for a while to get a break from his noisy, stupid family and Jamie Thomas. He took a walk in the little forest outside the summerhouse. Out there in the woods Al had his own secret place. It was a small cave where he could hide. He had an emergency supply of sweets, a few magazines and a candle. If necessary he could stay there for hours. Now that Jamie was here, occupying his room, Al went there a lot.

One day when Al retreated to his secret place to write a letter to Malfoy, someone followed him. It was Jamie Thomas. He noticed at once, and made sure to go somewhere else. He couldn't let Jamie know about his secret hideout. Telling Jamie a secret meant telling the entire school. She just didn't know how to keep things to herself. If he wanted to be able to return to his little cave, he had to go somewhere else now.

Albus took a long detour through the forest and ended up in a meadow. He stopped there and sat down on a nice rock, pretending that he hadn't seen Jamie yet. The Gryffindor girl gave up her stalking and came over to sit down on the same rock, which was far too small for the both of them.

"Hi, Albus," she whispered. "There's something I've wanted to tell you for a while now, but I never get to speak to you alone. You're always running away, spending all of your time out here in the woods."

Albus didn't know if he was scared or annoyed. Why was she sitting so close to him? There was no need to whisper. No one could hear them out here anyway.

"You're very handsome, Albus," she said, leaning closer and looking him straight in the eyes. Then she _kissed_ him. She actually _kissed_ him. On his lips! It was horrifying. How could she do something like that? Without asking Al if it was okay first! He was absolutely not happy with this. Jamie looked happy about it, though. A bit red faced, but happy.

Albus had no idea what to do next. He considered the following: running away, confronting the intruder-of-personal-space, or doing nothing. The last option would definitely lead to more kissing and was therefore out of the question. If he ran away, he'd still have to hide from Jamie for the rest of his life, and to do so he would probably need to quit school. He didn't want to quit school. And he didn't want confront Jamie. What if she got hurt? That was the last thing Al wanted to, she was his friend after all.

Maybe hurting Jamie was inevitable. She tried to kiss Al again, but he managed to shove her away.

"Didn't you like it?" she asked with a sad look in her eyes.

Startled, Al just shook his head. Jamie ran away crying.

Al felt so sorry for the girl that he had to lie down on the soft grass for a while and rethink things. Had he been very mean to her? No. He'd simply told her that he didn't want to be kissed. Perhaps not verbally, though. Was it really such a big problem? That he didn't want to kiss her? There was no need to run away and cry.

After a short while, Al was in fact quite pissed off. Jamie Thomas should not do such tings as to follow him into the forest, sneak up on him like that, kiss him and expect him to _like_ it! Ok, they where almost thirteen, and people their age often kissed each other, but that was not an excuse. Albus was certainly not ready to kiss anyone, especially not Jamie. And he could definitely not continue sharing room with her now.

Albus fell asleep on the soft ground. He woke up in his father's arms three hours later. They were still in the meadow. A calm voice whispered to him.

"Albus. We were really worried when you didn't show up for dinner." Albus looked up into his father's calm eyes, but didn't answer. "Jamie told me I'd find you here. Did something happen between the two of you? Something you want to talk about?"

Albus shook his head.

"Are you sure, Al? You can tell me," Harry Potter whispered.

Al told his father about the kiss and how he felt about it. He was very happy to have Harry as a father. Talking about such things wasn't embarrassing at all. Harry understood, but told his son to still sleep in the same room as Jamie, and Albus trusted him, as always, knowing that this was the best solution. It was fortunately only one more night, and then the Thomas family would pack their bags and leave for Paris.

Harry carried his son all the way back to the summerhouse, and Al fell asleep again in his father's arms. When he woke up the next day, Jamie's family was already leaving. Al was happy, knowing that he wouldn't need to see Jamie again before September, but also sad and afraid to lose his friend forever.

* * *

><p>"Jamie told me what happened," Rose told him when they went to bed the following night.<p>

"I don't want to talk about it, Rose."

"Sure," she answered and shrugged. "But I have one question."

"Okay," Al said. "Go ahead."

"Are you in love with someone else?"

"What? Of course not!" Al screamed.

"All right, all right," Rose smiled. "I just thought… You know, you spend a lot of time with the Slytherin girls, and I just guessed that maybe…"

"Rose, please…" Al complained.

"It's nothing wrong with being in love, Al. It's only natural."

"Okay, then who are you in love with, Rosie?"

His cousin blushed and grinned foolishly. "No one," she said.

"Yes, you are!"

"I'll never tell you," she laughed. And she really wouldn't tell him. Even when Al attacked her and tickled her until she almost couldn't breathe. Albus spent the rest of the summer trying to figure out who his cousin had a crush on, but she never spilled her secret.

All in all, it was one of the best summers Al had ever had. He had fun with Rose and the rest of his family; he got loads of letters from Scorpius, and he got play Quidditch every day. Still, he was looking forward to September, when he would finally go back to school.


	7. Chapter 7

_**A/**__**N: I changed the rating from T to M because of some things that will happen later in the story. Hope you're okay with that **_**;D**

**Dilemma for James**

The summer had almost come to an end, and it was soon time to go back to Hogwarts.

This was Al's third year, and he was no longer nervous about leaving his parents and sister. Not that he was leaving his sister this year. She was coming with him, ready to enter her first year at Hogwarts. She wasn't anxious at all. She had in fact waited for this for more than two years. When her letter came, all of the Potters headed straight for Diagon Alley to buy their school uniforms, books and other necessities.

James had been made captain of the Gryffindor team, so Harry had decided to give him a new broom. For some reason, James didn't seem to be as happy about his new position as one could have expected. He was very quiet the entire day, but his new broom, the newest Firebolt model, cheered him up a little.

After all of the shopping was done, the five Potters ate dinner at a restaurant close to Uncle George's shop. James opened his mouth to speak, just to close it again. He barely touched his food, even though it was spaghetti, his favourite. Albus noticed that his brother tried to speak several times during the meal, but not a word came out until everyone had finished.

"Lily, you will be trying out for the Quidditch team, right?" he finally asked. It was not a question, really, rather a demand. Lily nodded her head eagerly, just before realising why this had been troubling James the entire evening. All three children of Harry and Ginny played seeker. And Lily was better than both of her brothers, despite being two years younger than Albus.

"Then I hope the Hat puts you in Gryffindor," James said proudly, although with some difficulties. Lily on her part looked mortified.

"But you play seeker! And so do I. I can play something else, James! I can't take your place on the team, you're the captain. And you know I'm not really good at anything else." Al tried to point out the fact that Lily might not be placed in Gryffindor at all, but that didn't seem to be of any significance to his siblings.

"You see, Lily," James explained. "As team captain, I have to do what's best for my team, and that means choosing the best seeker. Which is you. I might have to consider playing another part, or not playing at all. I am in fact a fair chaser, and I guess I could do well as a keeper."

Letting this out seemed to help, and he cheered up at once. He was probably explaining this to him self as much as he was to Lily. Harry ruffled his son's hair and told him that he was very proud.

"You have grown a lot, James. It was a very mature decision to make. Although it might have been unnecessary." He added the last part after seeing Albus' expression.

When Al went to bed that night, he prayed for the first time in his life. He was not religious, but right now he could see no other option. He was absolutely certain that Lily would be placed in Gryffindor, and if not, then Ravenclaw. Either way, he would get a much rougher year as the Slytherin seeker now than ever before.


	8. Chapter 8

**Third year begins**

Albus was saying goodbye to his parents again, ready to leave for another year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. His cousins Rose and Hugo were at the platform as well. James had disappeared into the crowd to meet his friends, and was probably already on the train. Lily was saying goodbye to Uncle Ron and Aunt Hermione.

Rose and Albus headed for the train together, pushing a trolley with suitcases, brooms, and Rose's old owl, Darling. Rose was talking as usual, but Al didn't care to listen. It probably wasn't interesting anyway. A much more interesting activity was to see if he could find Malfoy, without letting his family notice.

"Oh, there's Jamie and Elisabeth," Rose shouted eagerly.

"Say hi from me. I'll go ahead and save us some seats, Rosie."

Albus watched his cousin run off to greet her friends. He'd rather not join them, afraid to meet Jamie again. There was someone else he'd rather see.

Finally he heard the familiar voice from somewhere in the crowd. "Yes, father. I promise." Malfoy! Albus looked around, but couldn't find his friend at first. Then he noticed him.

Right there, next to Draco Malfoy stood a tall, slender young man. His hair was blond, and reached down to his shoulders. Silver eyes hidden behind the long strands of hair. Albus hardly recognised Scorpius Malfoy. He had grown several inches, and so had his hair. His voice was deeper, almost like an adult's. And all this had happened this summer.

Albus had grown as well of course. He and Rose had measured their heights every week to see who grew quicker. But it was nothing compared to Scorpius.

There was nothing Al wanted more then to greet his friend and give him a hug, and he almost did. Before he remembered that they weren't friends. At least not officially. Albus just scowled at the youngest Malfoy and entered the train.

Albus sat with Rose and her friends. He tried to ignore them as much as possible, but they were laughing and giggling so loud that he had no choice but to listen. It was mainly chit-chat and gossip. They were talking about which boys were cutest, and whether it was, or was not, okay to wear make-up with the school uniform. Rose was the only one debating against. Jamie Thomas didn't say much, but she occasionally looked up at Albus giving him a shy smile.

"Albus," Rose said. "You agree with me, don't you? The rules say that we are not allowed to wear make-up with the uniforms." She looked at Albus, trying to tell him with her eyes that he had no choice but to nod. He played along.

Riding with the Hogwarts Express had never taken longer, and it was so boring that not even the new book he was reading could excite him. All he thought about was meeting his friends in Slytherin again, and particularly Scorpius Malfoy.

When they were halfway there, the twins showed up.

"Hi, Albus!" Frida called and ran over to sit by his side. She laughed and squeezed him tightly.

"We've missed you, Al," she said. "You forgot to write us. Perhaps you were busy sending letters to someone else?" She smiled suggestively. When Al looked into her brown eyes, he got a feeling that she knew exactly who he had been sending letters to, even though no one had let her in on the secret.

Eirian was still standing, gazing absentmindedly out the window. Once again, Al wondered what she was thinking about. Did she have some sort of bizarre contact with something Albus couldn't understand?

Frida gave him a quick kiss on the cheek before she ran away giggling. Her sister followed quietly. Al wiped the kiss away with the back of his hand, and he saw Jamie glaring at him. What was the matter with these girls? Kissing and giggling and glaring.

"Uhm…" he muttered. "I think I'll go and see how Lily's doing."

It was a relief when they finally arrived. Albus sat at the Slytherin table with the twins, April and his friends from the Quidditch team. Scorpius was there as well, chatting with a few boys from the year above them. They pretended not to like each other as usual.

Albus watched the Sorting Hat put his sister and cousin in Gryffindor and was not surprised at all. Lily had smiled wholeheartedly and waved at him from her table. Al could see how excited she was. She had also made a new friend, a boy with green hair, obviously a metamorphmagus like Teddy.

Albus and Scorpius were strangers, until the feast was over at last. Not before they were in the safety of the Slytherin dorms did the two boys act like the friends they really were.

"Did you have a nice summer, Malfoy?" Al asked.

"Not really…" Malfoy said casually.

"Why not?" Al asked, unable to understand that summer could be anything but great.

"Well, I live in a huge house, the Malfoy Manor, along with my father, my mother and my paternal grandmother. The only one I get along with is my father. My mother cares for nothing but money and beauty. She always wished I was a girl, so that she could dress me up in pink skirts and braid my hair. And the two of them don't get very well along either," Scorpius sighed. "Mother only married my dad for his money, and he only did it because my grandmother told him to. And Narcissa is an old hag, so I don't really like her either. She complains about my father, and says that I am a disappointment for the house of Malfoy. Father says that the war ruined her, but I believe she's always been a pain in the ass."

Scorpius smiled and sat nonchalantly down on the bed. "What about you, Potter?"

"Well…"

"I'm sure your family's not perfect either. I mean, with so many people there's got to be some problems."

"Not really," Albus answered. "Of course, we have our quarrels, but we all love each other. My parents, siblings, cousins and everyone."

"Oh…"

They finished unpacking in silence. When they finally finished, Scorpius said: "Now we've know each other for exactly a year. Feels strange, right?"

"Yes," Al agreed. "It feels like last week or something, and still it feels as if we've been friends for years."

"I have a favour to ask of you this year, Al."

"Sure, what is it?"

"I want to join the Quidditch team. And I need your help, because I don't know if I'm good enough."

Wow, this was the first time Al had seen Scorpius insecure. He always acted so arrogantly and confident, but today he was really showing some weak sides.

"Well," Albus said, "I know a place where we can practice."

"Great! It will be fun; finally we'll do something different than just hanging out in our dorms."


	9. Chapter 9

**Quidditch Practice**

Albus and Scorpius decided to practice Quidditch every evening before the tryout. The place they used for training was a huge abandoned classroom in a remote corridor in the dungeons. It wasn't great for flying, but it served its purpose since no one ever would find them there. It would be a little weird if the two of them suddenly practised Quidditch together when no one knew they were friends.

"So why did you suddenly decide to try out for the Quidditch team?" Al asked.

"Well, it's not something I suddenly decided. I always wanted to play, but my father only taught me how to play Seeker, and I can't really compete with you. You're a lot better than me," Scorpius said and smiled. It wasn't like him to give compliments. "I've trained to become a Chaser the entire summer. My father has helped me a lot, but he's not a natural like you."

"Wow, thanks," Al said astonished. A short, awkward silence followed, and both boys blushed a little. "That's a great broom by the way," Al continued.

"I know; my father gave it to me."

"Guessed so," Al said and laughed. "Let me see you fly it."

They started to play around in their classroom, and Albus put in a great deal of effort into evaluating his friend's skills.

After half an hour they landed again. "Okay," Al started. "You're a good flyer, quick and safe on the broom. You're weak sides is probably evading unexpected obstacles, and you're moves are easy to read."

Al saw that Scorpius was embarrassed and unused to receive criticism, but he decided to ignore that and continue the lesson. "Imagine that I'm a Beater in front of you. I'm trying to send a Bludger at you, you notice this, and evade it by changing your course slightly to the left or right. This is a very obvious move, and if the other team is a bit clever, they've already planned this attack, so that another Beater is ready to send a Bludger in your new direction. What you need to do is therefore to find a new way to dodge the Bludger that's coming towards you. Any suggestions to what you can do instead?"

"Well, I have good broom that's easy to control, so I could probably keep on going towards the Bludger and then suddenly turn straight upwards and fly over the ball and the Beater."

"Good," Al said. "You should try thinking out a few moves like that, perhaps something even more surprising. But first, let's see if you can put this theory to practice."

Making a ninety degrees turn straight upwards was apparently easier said than done. Scorpius tried again and again and again, and he failed again and again and again. He crashed into desks, chairs, walls, Albus and even the roof. He fell many times, becoming angrier every time. Al watched and found the whole scene hilarious.

"Let's see how you'd do it, then, Potter!" Scorpius hissed. Albus had of course practiced this move many times before and did it perfectly on his first try.

Malfoy snorted. "Hmph. Then teach me how to do it."

"Sure." Al grabbed his own broom and held it horizontally in the air. "First you need to imagine the course you're gonna take. You'll be making an S-curve like this," he said and motioned with his broom in the air. Now we'll try it together on the floor."

He positioned himself in the middle of the room where they had cleared an empty space. "Both feet planted on the ground, your broom between your legs as if you're flying. Good, bend your knees a little. Okay; imagine the route you're gonna fly. Straight ahead, then upwards." He showed Scorpius how to do the move, but his friend didn't quite get it.

He let go of his broom and went over to Scorpius to lend him a hand. "Just stand still and imagine that you're flying. Then, you'll have to bend the broom upwards like this."

Al placed one hand on the front of Malfoy's broom, and one on the other end. He pulled the front of the broom upwards and moved it along the imagined S-curve.

"Ow! Potter, are you trying to castrate me or something? Be more careful."

"Sorry. Do it yourself then."

Scorpius did the move a few times. It looked really stupid.

"When you're doing this while flying, it's gonna be a lot more difficult, 'cause you'll have to use a lot of force. It takes a lot of effort to make the broom change direction like this, even though it's a very good broom. Now I'll try to pull the broom forwards, while you'll force it to go in the direction you want."

They practiced this for a while, both of them pulling the broom in different directions until the both of them were panting and full of sweat.

"Great! I think you know more or less how much it takes to make the broom do exactly what you want." Al said. "Now we'll do it in the air. Stay close to the ground so that I can help you."

Scorpius got on to his broom, and struggled a little while before he finally managed to stay still in the air just a foot above the ground. Al stood next to him. "I'll hold you, the first times," Al said and wrapped his arms around Scorpius' torso. He could feel his friend's heart beat in excitement. "I'll count to three. One, two, three."

Scorpius shot forwards, with Albus in tow, straight into the classroom wall ahead of them. They landed on top of each other, panting, and Al could smell Scorpius' sweat.

"Ow! Fuck! Let's try again."

After several attempts they finally managed it. After a while, Scorpius was able to do the whole move alone.

"Great! Looks as if it's time to head back," Al said.

"Thanks, Cole," Scorpius said and smiled. _What a beautiful smile,_ Al thought.

Wait a minute! Had he just thought that another boy was beautiful? No! Definitely not. Or, well: yes, he had. But this wasn't a crush or anything! It was just the same kind of beauty you'd see in a flower or a sister or something. He thought that Rose was beautiful too. This was just the same kind of thing. Right? No need to freak out about this.

"Uhm…" he said. "I'll think about what we'll practice on tomorrow."

"Sure. See you later."

They headed back separately to not attract unwanted attention.

* * *

><p>They kept on practicing in their empty classroom. Sometimes Al noticed that he was strangely excited. He was thrilled to share broom with Scorpius when he tried to teach him a new technique. Scorpius' racing broom wasn't made for two persons, so Albus was sitting behind Scorpius, with his chest pressed against his friend's back. He couldn't tell if it was Scorpius' or his own heart that was beating so hard. And it wasn't the fear of falling down or colliding with walls and furniture that caused his heart rate to increase. The whole thing was just confusing. Perhaps it was better not to think so much about it.<p>

Scorpius acted differently as well. He smiled and laughed more than usual, and sometimes he even showed his weak spots. As if he had opened up a little. After practicing the entire Sunday, they sat down and talked for a while.

"Remember me saying that this summer sucked?" Scorpius asked. Al nodded. "Well, I got a letter from my father yesterday. It seems as if they're going to divorce."

"Oh!" Al didn't know what to say. Scorpius didn't give the impression of being sad, but Al couldn't know for sure.

"My mother just ran away with a richer and much older man. Narcissa is really mad about it, but I don't think anyone cares about what she thinks anymore."

"Are you okay with it?"

"Yes," Scorpius said and smiled. "I'm glad actually. We've never been like a real family anyway."

* * *

><p>A few days later, Scorpius joined the Slytherin Quidditch team, much thanks to Al's help. Al was really happy, but they still had to keep their friendship secret, so things were getting a bit more difficult now. And of course, he had to play against Lily this year. How embarrassing it would be – loosing to an eleven year old girl! Hopefully, Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff's teams would be less frightening this year. Maybe they still had a chance at getting the House Cup after all.<p> 


	10. Chapter 10

**Rose's plan**

"Okay, Albus, listen up. Do you remember me mentioning a plan that I have for this year?"

Albus gave his cousin a short nod. She had been bugging him about it for months, but refused to tell him anything that could give Albus the slightest hint of what she was planning.

"Last year, I explored a part of the library that most students don't notice. It's almost hidden in a corner by the restricted section. I found many interesting books, and one of them is written by McGonnagall."

Al hadn't really been listening, but the last part caught his attention. "I didn't know the headmaster wrote books."

Rose shook her head enthusiastically, read curls waving out of control. "She doesn't It seems as if it's only this one. Look, it's handwritten."

Albus took the book and looked at it. It was a notebook with just a few words written on the cover: "Life as an amimagus; a guide and a memoir." _Oh, no_, he thought, _I have a bad feeling about this._

"Rose," he said slowly. "What exactly does this have to do with your plan? We're not becoming animagi, are we?"

"No, we're going to brew tea," his cousin answered with sarcasm. "Of course we're becoming animagi, you idiot! Look, I've already filled out the application forms."

"Great, and all I have to do is sign, right?" Al asked sourly.

Rose Weasley smiled and nodded, intentionally ignoring Al's negative tone.

They were in the Slytherin dorms. It was a Saturday and Scorpius was somewhere in the castle playing chess with a few friends, so Albus and Rose had the room to themselves. She had brought a huge pile of books and papers and spread them out on the empty bed next to Al's.

"There are loads of preparations needed. We need to choose which animals we want to morph into, we need to practice transfiguration, especially you Albus; you know that transfiguration is not your strongest subject."

Al already knew the answer, but still he asked "Do I have a say in this matter?"

"No."

"Will you at least tell me why we are doing this?"

Rose stood up from where she was sitting on one of the empty beds. She placed her hands on her hips and gave Albus one of her Looks. This one meant: Al, are you completely stupid?

"You need to learn your history, Mister Potter. Don't you know why your father's patronus takes the form of a stag? Don't you know anything about your grandfather?"

This was starting to get annoying. Of course he knew that his grandfather had been an animagus, but what did that have to do with Albus?

"We are going to improve ourselves, Albus. Become better magicians. Being able to morph into an animal at any time is just the first step in the process."

Albus lay down on his bed, not bothering to resist anymore. "And all we have to do is sign some forms and practice transfiguration?"

"Of course not, Al." Rose started searching through the pile of papers she had brought. "We have to pass some tests and evaluations, and finally there's the process where we become animagi. It's going to be difficult, but I think we will be finished by March." She picked out some sheets and handed them to her cousin. "We start tomorrow, after your Quidditch practice, in the Room of Requirement. Here's a list of things you have to bring with you. Fill out this form that I've made for you. Find out which animal you want to choose, and read the first five chapters of this book by tomorrow."

"Rose, please…"

"No," Rose interrupted. "You have plenty of time for all this, it's not yet one thirty. This may feel like a steep price to pay for being able to morph into an animal, but in time you will thank me. Now, let's discuss which animals we want. Here's a good book with information on different types of animals."

Albus felt his stomach roar and beg for food. "Can we discuss it over lunch?"

* * *

><p>"I'm considering otter, cat, rabbit and monkey. The otter is because it reminds me of my mum; the cat is because I'd love to understand more of old Crookshank's world. Rabbits are small and quick while monkeys are… cute." Rose blushed a little. Al thought it suited her hair very well. They were eating lunch together at the Slytherin table. "How about you, Al?"<p>

Al didn't know. He flipped another page of Rose's book. None of the animals tempted. He wanted something that expressed power, like a tiger or an eagle. But he didn't want to scare anyone. A tiger would definitely scare most people, and only Lily would consider it a good choice. What about the eagle? It'd be fun to have wings and learn how to fly, wouldn't it? But the eagle reminded him of war and fighting. Albus decided to look for something else.

He could choose a stag, like his grandfather. No, that didn't feel right. It felt like copying, and dishonouring James Potter. And it was a little ambitious. It was like saying "I'm the new James Potter. Expect of me what you would have expected of him." So he would not choose a stag.

Albus decided that he needed a few criteria. The animal he chose had to be big, wings were a plus, and he had to like it.

"Which bird is the biggest in the world?" he asked, just out of curiosity.

Rose knew the answer, of course. "That depends on how you look at it. Length, weight, wingspan and so on. The largest bird alive is the ostrich, but it can't fly. The cinereous vulture is the largest bird of pray, and the wandering albatross has the largest wingspan of all living birds. The Eurasian eagle owl is the largest owl."

Albus thought he had gotten used to the constant flow of information running out of his cousin's mouth, but he had never expected that she knew this much about non-school-related subjects. He started to read about the birds Rose had mentioned. The ostrich was out of the question. Although it was a quick runner, it couldn't fly, and what was the point in being a bird unable to fly? The vulture looked evil, but the albatross on the other hand caught Al's attention.

The wandering albatross could have a wingspan up to 3,5 meters. It looked like a giant seagull and was rather ugly. Al loved it.

"Rose, I'll choose the albatross."

"No way. Don't be silly, Albus."

"Why is it silly to be an albatross? They're awesome," Al said. Rose obviously didn't have a good answer, so she didn't reply.

"Then I'll choose the albatross."

* * *

><p>When Albus finally escaped from Rose's animagus-session he went back to the Slytherin dorms and started to read the homework his cousin had given him. Scorpius showed up after a while as well.<p>

"What are you reading?"

"Some book Rose gave me. She's forcing me to become an animagus."

Scorpius smiled, used to seeing his friend being 'forced' by Rose to do something. They both knew that Al actually liked doing as Rose told him to.

"Well," Scorpius said. "That's great, isn't it?"

"Hm…" Al muttered. "What would you have transformed into, if you could choose, Syd?"

"I don't know," he answered. "Probably a goat or a donkey. I don't know why, but I've always found them very interesting. How about you?"

"I'm thinking about the albatross," Al said, suddenly a bit embarrassed over such a weird choice.

"Awesome!" Scorpius said enthusiastically. "I love albatrosses."

And with those few words, all doubt Al may have had about choosing the albatross vanished. _Yes,_ he thought. _I'm definitely choosing the albatross!_

* * *

><p>"Why do you want to be an albatross, Al?" Rose said when they met up at the Room of Requirement.<p>

"Isn't it obvious?" Al grinned. "_Alb_us, _alb_atross. I'll be Albus the Albatross. It's amazing!"

"No, it isn't," Rose complained. "That's a stupid reason. And don't you know what it means to _carry an albatross around one's neck?_"

"Of course I know. But you see, Rose, you wouldn't like to carry me around your neck either."

She gave him a new Look. This one meant: Quit making up poor excuses and choose something else.

"It's not like your choice is so much more clever, Rosie. Picking a monkey because it's _cute_."

"I also have some practical reasons," Rose muttered shyly.

"And so do I. Can't we just agree on this and start the other preparations."

"Okay, then. Let's get started!"

* * *

><p>Rose lectured him, practised transfiguration with him and made him read everything that had ever been written about animagi. They met up at the Room of Requirement almost every evening. Rose was strict, and didn't cut her cousin much slack, so Al was very surprised when she suddenly cancelled on of their planned meetings.<p>

"I'm sorry Al, but I have other plans for tomorrow," she said.

"Oh. What plans?"

"None of your business," she answered secretively and smiled.

What could she possibly be up to? Maybe she was meeting someone else. If she just wanted to do something on her own, she wouldn't have cancelled their meeting. It still wasn't like her to let anything get in the way of her intellectual development. Then Al remembered something she had said that summer. She had more or less admitted that she was in love with someone! Maybe she was going on a date.

Damn, what was wrong with this place? Everyone was falling in love, and kissing each other and going on dates. Everyone but Albus. Was it something wrong with him? He still wasn't very interested in the idea of kissing girls or anything like that. Jamie Thomas tried to kiss him almost every week now. That girl just couldn't take no for an answer. It was freaking annoying.

Even April was sending weird looks in his direction. Al could see her whispering and giggling with her friends. Frida was also crazy as usual, but Al knew who she liked. Scorpius Malfoy. For some reason, Al didn't like the idea of seeing them together. It was the same feeling he got when Rose kept ditching him and their animagus meetings. Jealousy.

* * *

><p>Al decided not to pry into his cousin's private life. What she did when she wasn't giving Al transfiguration lessons in the Room of Requirement was none of his business, but when she refused to go with him to Hogsmade – the first time ever that they were allowed to go there – Al just couldn't take it anymore. He had to find out what she was doing!<p>

When the first Hogsmade weekend came, Albus decided to follow Rose. He stalked after her through the streets until she finally stopped outside a new, quite fancy restaurant. Al hid behind a corner where he could keep an eye on her without being seen.

She looked different. Sort of dressed up, with a new coat and… was that… lipstick? She was definitely wearing make-up. The cold autumn air made her shiver, but she stood still, waiting for someone. After about five minutes of waiting her face lit up, like the sun on the first day of summer. She smiled like Al never had seen her smile before, and she waved at someone. This someone waved back and started to run towards her. Al could see him clearly. It was Gordon Smith, a boy who was one year older then them. Albus knew perfectly well who he was: The Ravenclaw Seeker.

Gordon grabbed Rose's hands, bent down and kissed her. Damn! Rose was dating Al's enemy! He really wanted to be angry, but the look upon her face when she met Gordon outside of that restaurant was something he never could forget. Rose was happy. No, he couldn't be mad or angry. The only thing he wanted was to experience the same feelings that Rose obviously had for Gordon Smith. Al really wanted to fall in love.

But how do you fall in love? It was time to play Rose for a while; Al had to do some research.


	11. Chapter 11

**Research**

Al's research on how to fall in love began with asking Frida. Last year she had told him about her feelings for Scorpius, which were a bit disturbing.

"Frida, you're in love with Malfoy, right?" he asked her on their way back to the common room after Potions one day. "What is it like?"

"Ah…" Frida sighed. "What I felt for him last year was different from what I feel now. Back then I was merely attracted to him, but now I'm really in love with him. It's like wanting to spend every minute of every day with him. I want him to recognise me, and when he does I sort of… melt inside. As if my mind turns to pumpkin juice and my heart starts beating really fast. Just seeing him makes me happy. But different people probably fall in love in different ways, so I can't really tell you what it's like to be in love."

"Of course," Al said. But it was good to hear her opinion. "Do you think it's weird that I haven't fallen in love yet? Everyone seems to be in love all the time, but I'm not really interested in girls or anything, so I've started to wonder if there's something wrong with me."

Frida stopped walking and looked straight into his eyes. "Maybe you are in love, Albus Severus. You just haven't noticed it yet."

It was something in her voice that scared him a little. She wasn't angry, but perhaps a little sad and annoyed. But then she smiled, gave him a kiss on the cheek and started to walk again.

_What a strange girl_, Albus thought. What did she mean? Was he already in love with someone? In the past few years, Al had gotten used to Frida saying weird things, and usually what she said was true.

If he really was in love, like Frida had suggested, who was he in love with? The question kept him awake for many nights. He tried to think of all the girls he knew. Frida and Eirian were very beautiful and he really liked them, but he wasn't in love with any of them. He was definitely not in love with Jamie Thomas. She was too annoying and he hadn't liked it when she kissed him that time in the forest. Rose was his cousin, and Lily was his sister, so they were out of the question. April Winter? No, she was just a friend.

Al thought about what Frida had said about being in love. _As if my mind turns to pumpkin juice and my heart starts beating really fast._ He recognised that feeling. Like something from a dream or a book he had read not too long ago.

Books! There were written thousands of romantic novels, maybe he should try to read one of those books for a change.

For the following months, Al was occupied with something all the time. He read books, practised transfiguration and Quidditch, wrote letters to his parents, read more books and read even more books. He had so much on his mind – he had to avoid humiliation on the Quidditch field were his little sister now ruled, there was the entire becoming-an-animagus-thing, and the fact that he probably was in love without knowing it.

Time flew, March came and before he knew it, Al was an animagus. Later he couldn't even remember how it happened. All the days had melted together and he didn't know what had happened when.

* * *

><p>When the school year came to and end, Al felt that he never had been more stupid. He had learned so much this year, but he still hadn't figured out anything about love – the only thing that really mattered. (At least according to some of those romance books.)<p>

Damn it, those books had corrupted his mind! They should have been locked away deep inside of the restricted section in the library. Some of them had made him very confused about what love was really all about; other's made him wonder if being in love was healthy at all. Some of the characters were insanely obsessed by love and did really stupid things. And not all of the books were about love, but about sex and horny teenage boys.

Not that Al had anything against it though. He was almost fourteen after all. He knew what it felt like to be turned on, and he had wanked more than once. He knew perfectly well what that was all about, yet he had no idea of what it was like to be in love with someone.

Why did this have to be so difficult? Why couldn't he just fall in love with someone and get this thing sorted out?

It seemed as if Frida understood how troubled Albus was. When they said goodbye to each other at King's Cross before summer that year she dragged him to the end of the platform where there were less people.

"I realized that what I said to you about being in love with someone confused you a bit," she said, and handed him a paper bag with something heavy in it. "Don't open this before you're alone. It's a magical book I got from one of the fifth years. Don't worry, she won't miss it. I hope this will help you making your mind up."

Frida smiled suggestively, a smile Albus never had seen before. She ended their conversation the way she usually did, with a kiss on his cheek.

The kiss hadn't escaped his sibling's all-seeing eyes, so they would probably tease him about it the entire summer, but Al didn't care. It was summer now, and Al was ready to let all of his worries fade away.


	12. Chapter 12

**The summer of change**

The book Frida had given him was definitely magical. On the outside it looked like a normal, old book. Very plain, with a lame title that was impossible to remember, even for Al who saw it everyday. On the inside, however, it was totally different…

It was full of porn.

There were lifeless muggle photographs (the images were not as dull, though) and there were moving pictures, like wizards were used to. There were also erotic short stories, drawings, poems, tutorials and a lot more. The content varied from half naked girls to very naked men and pictures of couples making love in the most absurd ways anyone could imagine.

The amazing thing was that this book had been passed down from student to student for years. And each student had contributed with some material. There was an instruction at the very beginning of the book that explained how to add new stuff. It was very easy, but Al didn't have anything to share, so he decided to keep the book until he found something.

To think that Frida had given him this… He wrote a letter to thank her, but he didn't mention how often he used it. It was as if he had two identities that summer. When he was with his family he was still innocent, little Albus, but when he was alone he became a sex-obsessed, very horny teenager. He gained a lot of experience on how to wank without being busted by anyone.

Maybe that was something to add to the book. It was definitely useful, so he wrote down a short article about it.

After a while, Al decided that the romance novels he had read the previous school year were all crap. Just a whole lot of bullshit. They were usually not funny, not scary and they didn't excite him at all. _Maybe Frida was wrong_, he thought. _I'm not in love with anyone, and I never will be. I'm meant to survive only on sex._

That couldn't be so bad, could it? In those silly novels, there were always too much drama, sadness and jealousy. Wasn't it better to just get rid of the drama and steer clear of love? It would be so much easier.

The only problem was that the half naked girls in his book rarely turned him on. Maybe it was because none of them were very good looking. Even Rose was more beautiful than these women, and she was his cousin. The boys on page twenty four however… They were standing in their underwear on a beach somewhere in Greece. They were… very beautiful.

What the fuck was he thinking? Boys weren't beautiful! At least not in a way that could turn him on. It was probably just a coincidence that he had a boner each time he looked at those boys. Right, because he didn't feel a thing when he looked at the naked man on page forty. Exactly. That's how it was.

* * *

><p>Al wondered if he should tell Rose about the book. It probably wasn't such a good idea, because she wouldn't approve of it. Or maybe she'd confiscate it. Still, when she confessed to him about going out with Gordon, Al had to reconsider things.<p>

"Al, I need to tell you something," she had whispered one night in their room in the summer house. It was really late, and the two cousins had gone to bed.

"I'm seeing someone."

Al was a very bad liar, so he didn't even try to hide that he had known all along. Rose was a little shocked, but not angry or anything.

"He's so romantic," she sighed. "And his skin is so smooth, and his hands are so warm, and he smells like autumn, and his hair is so curly…"

Merlin, this was bad! Rose had turned into one of those crazy girls from the romance books Al had read. He had to find a way to save her!

"And he's a very good kisser," she continued and giggled. "I know you didn't like it when Jamie kissed you last summer, Albus, but you should really try to kiss someone you like. It's the best!"

"I won't," Al answered. "You see, I've given up on love." Rose sat up in her bed quickly.

"What? Al, you can't just give up on love! Why would you do that?"

"It's silly. It's a lot better to just avoid the entire thing."

"What makes you think so? Love is great, Al, you've just got to wait for it."

"I've done some research, and reached the conclusion that love is horrible, destructive and dangerous. It probably works out for a few lucky souls, like mum and dad, but it's not something I'm gonna waste my time on."

"What kind of research?" Rose asked sharply.

"Books… Some books that I found in the library. And I asked Frida."

"And she agreed with you? Did she tell you that you should give up on love?"

"No," Al answered. "Rather the opposite. But she gave me a book, though. To 'help me making my mind up' or something. And so I have."

"What kind of book?"

Al hesitated for a while, but then he saw Rose's angry face through the summer half-darkness. He turned on the lights and showed it to her. She was shocked, and for a while she just turned the pages frantically without saying a word. Al didn't dare to say a word before she finally spoke.

"Frida gave you this?"

Al nodded frightened.

"Frida gave _you_ The Legendary Untitled Book of Porn?"

"Is it legendary?"

"Didn't you know? Haven't you heard of it before?"

Al shook his head.

"Then I guess that you don't know who made it either? It's rumoured that it was Molly and Dominique who made it four years ago."

"Really? Do you believe that?"

"I do," Rose said and smiled. "Can I borrow that book once in a while?"

* * *

><p>When summer was over that year, Albus felt like a different boy, or perhaps even a different man. He had changed so much, and it wasn't just because of that book and the new perspective of life it had given him. He was older now, older than ever before – obviously – and a lot more mature. This year at Hogwarts would be wonderful! As always.<p> 


	13. Chapter 13

**Disaster **

Being a fourth year wasn't much different from being a third year after all. In fact Albus hardly noticed any difference whatsoever. It was still him and Scorpius alone in their dorms; he still had the same teachers and the same friends. The daily life hadn't changed either. Nor had the nights.

The only two Slytherin fourth year boys spent their nights as they always had for the past two years. They read, turned the lights off and fell asleep. This particular night, Al finished reading first, and he drew the curtains shut because he knew that Scorpius wouldn't stop reading just yet.

He couldn't sleep, though. He lay there in the darkness, thinking about all and nothing. Or rather, thinking about a certain room mate, just a few beds away. These feelings – the tingling in his stomach, the goose bumps on his arms and the dizziness he felt every time he saw Scorpius Malfoy – they weren't what he thought they were, right? Al wasn't in love with his best friend, was he? He had decided that he wouldn't fall in love, and that's how it would be. And Malfoy was a boy, just like Al. A very handsome one, indeed, but Albus only liked him as a friend. Right?

Then why, Merlin why, did Albus dream about kissing him? They were just friends, and Al had many friends, but Scorpius Malfoy was the only friend he wanted to hug and kiss and snuggle up to when they were all alone in the dark Slytherin dorms.

_Al, you're thinking too much_, he told himself. _You're a teenager. Just a normal, confused teenager._

"Albus?" he heard Scorpius whisper. "Albus, are you still awake?"

Al didn't answer, but pretended to be fast asleep. He could hear Scorpius drawing his curtains shut and turning his light of. He imagined the blond Slytherin boy going to bed in his own home. He probably had a huge, soft bed, with silver coloured silk sheets in a bright room in Malfoy Manor. Al caught himself wanting to stay in that bed with him. But of course, that was only because of the soft pillows. He certainly didn't want to sleep in that bed because of the other person laying there.

Suddenly Al heard his friend mutter something inaudible. Then the room went totally quiet. An unnatural silence. Al couldn't hear his own breath, or the sound of his finger taping against his forehead. He tried to speak, but no sound came out.

That was weird. Was this Malfoy's doing? Al stepped out on the cold stone floor and went over to his friend's bed to check. It felt strange, walking without making any sound. When he reached Malfoy's bed, Al peeked in between the curtains.

And there it was: the most beautiful sight Albus Severus Potter had ever seen. Scorpius lay there, naked on his bed. His skin was pale, white and shiny like the first snow on Christmas Eve. His eyes were closed, and his face was a bright shade of pink, sweaty and heated up by pure pleasure. Malfoy was right there in front of Al, wanking!

Al could see his friend breathing heavily, probably moaning loudly. Albus knew that he should be retreating as soon as possible, before Scorpius opened his eyes and noticed that he was being watched. But Al was paralyzed. There was nothing he could do about it, and now he had a boner as well. Shit! Why did this have to turn him on? The desire was unbearable; Al really needed a wank now, and he knew that he had to run back to his own bed at once if he didn't want Scorpius to see him.

He never got the chance to escape, because the next moment, Scorpius reached his climax. And Al saw him coming. It was so delightful, so appealing.

And Scorpius had noticed him. Albus saw the anger on his friend's face, mixed with pleasure, fear and guilt, and Al knew he had to flee. He ran out of the room, into the hall were Scorpius' silencing charm no longer had an effect. The sound of his bare feet running on cold stone floor was like thunder compared to the silence Malfoy had produced. Al ran into the safety of the closest bathroom, and closed the door behind him. Scorpius had not followed him.

Al pulled down his pyjama bottoms. There was only one thing to do now – wank.

Later he fell asleep on the bathroom floor, not daring to return to the dormitory.

* * *

><p>The next day, Scorpius wouldn't even look Al in the eyes. Al tried to apologize, but there was no use. He could understand it, of course. Albus would probably have been just as mad, but that didn't stop Albus in his pursuit for forgiveness. Unfortunately, nothing helped, and the situation only worsened.<p>

At one point, their relationship was so tense, Al had to evacuate the dorm and sleep somewhere else. He slept in an empty classroom on the fourth floor, only returning to the Slytherin house for changing clothes.

Weeks passed, and the situation got more and more hopeless. Al didn't want to give up, but what could he do? Scorpius avoided him, and ignored him in class. Al realized that if he really wanted to speak with Malfoy, he couldn't take no for an answer.

He started with moving back to the Slytherin dorms. When Scorpius tried to leave, and Al couldn't stop him, he just had to knock his friend out with a paralyzing charm and tie him to a chair.

"Sorry 'bout this," Al said when Scorpius gained consciousness. He could tell from Malfoy's expression that the apology was not accepted.

"Look, Malfoy," Al tried. "I've said I'm sorry. For intruding that day. And if you'd just forgive me, I'll promise to never mention it again. Please, Scorpius. You're my best friend, and I don't want to lose you."

He got no response. Malfoy was like a living statue, only minding his own business without acknowledging Al's presence. It was torture.

"Malfoy, please! I beg you."

"Just untie me and leave me alone," the blond boy said sourly. Al untied him and Malfoy left the room. Merlin, this was a disaster!

Until then, Al had managed to remain cheerful and positive, certain that they would be able to sort this out soon enough, but now… He broke down. He cried and cried and cried. He forgot all about going to the Great Hall for dinner, and if it wasn't for Rose, he would have stayed there on the floor until he starved. She came to look for him and found him lying on the floor, completely torn apart.

"Oh, Al!" she said and hugged him. Usually, he would have told her to let go, but now he didn't mind. He let her drag him down to the Gryffindor table. He forced down a few bites of whatever they had for dinner that day, and soon he fell asleep in her arms.

* * *

><p>He woke up in his bed the next day. Rose had left a note for him.<p>

_You don't need to come to class today; I told the teachers that you __don't feel well and need some rest. I'll tell Frida to bring you something to eat later._

Al didn't want to stay in his bed for the rest of the day, so he decided to go for a walk. He went to the Astronomy Tower. He had always felt a special connection to that place. It was here that Severus Snape killed Albus Dumbledore many years ago.

Al had always thought that if he should ever want to kill himself, he'd throw himself off the Astronomy Tower. Where Albus was killed by Severus.

The view was beautiful from up there. Hogwarts was such a wonderful place, with the lake and the forest, the Quidditch field, the castle and Hogsmade just by.

Albus went over to the edge, put one foot on the railing and leapt forward. He was in free fall.

Merlin, what a rush! He fell several floors; saw the ground coming closer and closer before he decided that it was time to transform. Morphing into his animal form was easy now, and suddenly he was an albatross. He spread his wings and flied away from the tower wall.

He could float on the air without beating his wings for hours. Nothing could compare with the feeling of being totally free, surrounded by air and completely alone. Al had flied a broom many times of course, but using his own wings was a thousand times better.

All if his troubles, fears and worries seemed meaningless now. What did it matter if Scorpius was mad at him for a while? Al had many friends, and a family that would love him forever. If he and Scorpius really were friends, something like this shouldn't break them apart.

And it didn't matter if Al actually was in love with Malfoy. Nothing to do about that. It was easier to just fly and think about nothing. And that's what Al decided to do for the rest of the day; until he got to hungry to carry on.


	14. Chapter 14

**Christmas**

Albus was definitely in love with Scorpius Malfoy, and he probably had been for a while, without knowing it. Just like Frida had said.

Al knew now, because he couldn't resist peeking at his former friend, he couldn't stop thinking about him, and the image of Scorpius naked had haunted his wanking fantasies ever since Al walked in on him that day.

Wonderful! Now, he had realized that he couldn't live the rest of his life without love after all, and he had fallen in love with a boy, a boy who hated him and refused to talk to him. Great!

This was maddening. At first, Al kept everything to himself. He didn't even talk to Rose about it, and for a while she let him keep his secret. However, when Christmas came that year, Rose decided that enough was enough.

* * *

><p>The Potters had celebrated the holyday in Ron and Hermione's house this year. Albus and Rose were in Rose's room. Al had always thought that it looked like a combination of library, bedroom and atelier. Painting had always been Rose's favourite hobby, and also one of the few things she was really horrible at.<p>

That's one of the many reasons why Al admired his cousin. She was the kind of person who wanted to be the best at everything, and nothing in the world could ever make her give up, even if she failed a thousand times over. And when she failed, she smiled, said that failure is the mother of success and tried again.

"Okay, Albus. You've been miserable for too long, now," she said. "You have to tell me what's going on."

"Nothing's going on."

"I know something's wrong, Al. I know that you and Malfoy had some sort of fight, but this isn't just about losing a friend. I know you well enough to understand that."

"I don't want to talk about it," Al whispered and buried his face in Rose's pillow. Was he going to cry as well, now?

"Perhaps talking about it helps," Rose said comforting.

"I couldn't give up on love after all," Al sighed.

"Of course you couldn't," Rose replied with a smile. She took the pillow away from his face and hugged him. Then she dried his tears with the palm of her hand. "So you're in love?"

It sounded really stupid when she said it like that, and Al realised that he had been quite naïve to think that he'd never fall in love. He felt pathetic now, but he knew Rose didn't care. She would never stop being his friend, and she wouldn't laugh when he told her who he was in love with.

"Scorpius Malfoy," he said. "I'm in love with Malfoy."

"And what are you gonna do about it? The two of you seem to be on bad terms these days."

"I won't do anything about it, Rose. I'm sure I'll fall in love with someone else one day."

"Al," she said, and hugged him again. "My dear Al. You really are hopeless when it comes to these things."

* * *

><p>Christmas break always felt too short. When they returned to school, the ground was covered in almost untouched snow. It was white and sparkling, beautiful and cold. It reminded Al of Scorpius Malfoy's skin. Naked skin.<p>

No! He shouldn't be thinking about that.

The first day after the break they had double Charms. Al's house had charms with the Gryffindors this year; therefore Al could pair up with Rose. The Charms teacher was Professor Twinkle, head of Slytherin House. She was Al's favourite teacher, beautiful, clever, strict and just.

Professor Twinkle also looked a bit like Frida and Eirian. She had pale, smooth skin, like Eirian, but also freckles like Frida. Her hair, however, was long, blonde and curly. She dressed like an elf; an angel of the forest or something. Green clothes with several layers of thin fabric. She moved and acted very gracefully, was always calm, but also scary at times, when the students behaved badly.

"Al, are you paying attention?" Rose hissed quietly, interrupting Al's line of thought.

"Sorry, no," Al admitted. What were they learning about? Something Rose had taught him last year, wasn't it? "Are we still on page 153?"

"I was saying," Rose whispered. "Maybe you should talk to him about it. Tell him how you feel."

"What?"

"Tell Malfoy the truth."

"I can't see why that would make anything better, Rose," Al sighed.

"But at least you'll be doing _something_ about this hopeless situation. Yes, he might turn you down, but even that has to be better than moping around all the time without knowing. And then you can move on."

"Why do you even care, Rose? This is none of your business," Al said, a bit too loudly. Twinkle started walking towards their desk.

"Do you need help with the assignment, students? Or are you perhaps finished already?"

Rose gave her a charming smile, and showed perfectly how to summon a pillow from the other end of the classroom.

"Good, miss Weasley. You can start reading about the Depuslo Charm, then," Twinkle said and walked over to check on someone else.

"Of course it's my business," Rose continued, as if their conversation never had been interrupted. "You're my cousin, but also my best friend, Al. And I know you feel the same way about me. Imagine that I acted like you do. Imagine that I suddenly became really depressed about something and refused to tell you what it was all about, and that I planned to just sulk and do nothing. Wouldn't you do everything you could to help me?"

Wow. Had he really acted that badly? Al thought he'd been cheerful and happy around others, even though he was sad when he was alone.

"It is my business because I care about you, Al," she said with a smile. "I guess telling Malfoy how you feel could be a little stupid, but what about dating? Try to find someone new, who might like you back."

"Great idea, Rose, except for the fact that I'm gay – probably – and I don't know anyone else who is."

"You might not know, but Gordon does. A guy who plays on the Ravenclaw team. He's not open about it, but he and Gordon are very close – a bit like you and me. We could make it a double date."

"Rose…" Al said. "That's very considerate of you, but I think I'll pass. I promise that I will sort this out somehow, just let me do it myself. And if I change my mind, I promise to come to you right away."

"Okay," she said and patted him on the back. "I'll trust that for now."

* * *

><p>Rose was obviously not the only one who had noticed that Al was acting differently, because one day something very strange happened. During the past few years Al had learned that whenever the twins where involved, something odd was bound to happen, but this was perhaps the weirdest incident yet.<p>

Al had known the twins for three and a half year now and only once had he heard Eirian speak. And at that time she had been in some sort trance, as if something powerful, angry and ancient had taken control over her body. That's why Al was so shocked when Eirian approached him in the hallway outside the Slytherin House and demanded to have a few words with him.

Her voice was hoarse, rough and deep.

"I know what's going on between you and Malfoy," she said calmly. "I know that you used to be friends, but that you had a fight earlier this school year. My sister knows it too."

Al didn't know what to say. First of all because he was too shocked by Eirian's sudden change in behaviour, but also because he could think of no good answer. Of course they knew. Al had always had the feeling that they had some sort of psychic powers.

"And I'm sure that you know how my sister feels about Scorpius Malfoy," Eirian continued, not bothering to wait for any answers from Al. "Now that the two of you are on such bad terms, she has gained hope again. She hopes that he might actually feel the same about her, but I know that he will turn her down."

"How can you be so sure about that?" Al asked. "You shouldn't just make her give up without trying."

Eirian glared at him. Her glare spoke for her. _'Says who?'_

What she said was: "I _know_ that Malfoy will turn her down, and I can't bear to see her hurt. I'm sure you know what I mean."

Al nodded. He remembered the incident with Matt Flint very well, and Eirian probably knew that Al had seen it. Eirian stared at the floor, sort of embarrassed.

"I have a selfish reason as well," she said quietly. "I can't bear to share her with someone else. If she finds herself a boyfriend, what am I to do? I need her, Albus. I need to have her to myself for a little while longer. So please make up with Malfoy again."

"I can't do that, Eirian. He won't talk to me, I'm sure you know that."

"You'll find a way," she said before she walked away and left Al alone in the empty corridor.


	15. Chapter 15

**Fight!**

Albus walked around in the long corridors without any meaning or goal at all. It was a Saturday morning, he had finished his homework and Quidditch practice was cancelled for some reason, so Al could do whatever he wanted to do. He wandered aimlessly around, going wherever his feet took him. To the Astronomy Tower.

It was a nice day for a flight. Al could see through the windows on his way up that it had rained a little, but now it was just cloudy, and a breeze made the trees in the forest shiver slightly.

While he walked he thought about ways to make up with Scorpius. Nothing came to mind. He was so absorbed in thoughts about Malfoy that when he reached the top of the Tower he thought he had gone mad.

Because there he was. Scorpius Malfoy's blond, straight hair reached him almost to the middle of his back. He was quite tall for their age, and very skinny.

It took a while before Malfoy turned around and noticed that Al was there.

"What are you doing here, Potter?" he asked.

"I can be wherever I want, and I wanted to be here."

"Yes," Scorpius said. He sounded annoyed. "But this is where I always go. To be alone."

"So do I."

Malfoy glared at him for a long while. "Should I leave, or should you?"

"I'll leave," Al said and headed towards the parapet and jumped off the edge. He could hear Malfoy shout in protest, but Al just morphed into his animal form and flied away, feeling the fresh air in his feathers.

When he returned an hour later, Malfoy was still there.

"What's the matter with you, idiot?" he said with an angry look on his face. "I though you were going to kill yourself."

"I thought you wouldn't care," Al answered, just as sourly.

Malfoy walked up to Al until they were so close that they could smell each other's breath. "I'm really fighting the urge to punch you right now," he snarled.

"If you want to hit me, do it," Al said. He was desperate. Any sign of emotion from Malfoy was welcome. It didn't matter anymore if Malfoy hated him, because hate was also a feeling.

The punch came and the fight begun. Tears of rage were running down Malfoy's cheeks while he swung his fists.

Al grabbed Malfoy's shirt and slammed him into the door that led to the staircase. Unfortunately the door wasn't properly closed, and the two of them stumbled a few paces, to the top of the stairs – and then they started falling.

They tumbled down the stairs, swearing and yelling while they tried to wrestle and hit each other at the same time. Al could almost feel his bones breaking as he fell – everywhere hurt, and the stairs seemed to never end.

Suddenly they did end, and the two boys rolled a few meters before they crashed into a stone wall.

For a while they were unable to move. They just lay there, and Al remembered the days when the two of them had practiced Quidditch in a classroom. They had often ended up like this: tangled together into wall they had just bumped into.

Al rested his head awkwardly on the cold floor and looked at the pattern in the tiles. He could hear footsteps, and soon after he saw a pair of naked feet approaching from around a corner.

"What's going on here, boys?" Professor Twinkle asked suspiciously.

* * *

><p>The two boys were taken to the hospital wing, and when the nurse had given them all the help she could, they were taken to Professor Twinkle's office.<p>

"Detention," she said. "Indefinitely."

She had them locked up in a room and told them that she wouldn't let them out until they could figure out the password. Then she gave them a key each and left.

Fortunately the room was well furnished. There were two comfortable sofas with a small table between them, some desks and an insane amount of cupboards placed along the walls. There were also a door that led into a bathroom where they had a toilet and a bathtub.

It was a comfortable place to stay, but a very boring one. And the tension between the two inmates was pretty high.

"So what are these key for?" Malfoy asked and placed his on the table. It was rather small and silver coloured.

"Probably not the door," Al said.

"Really?"

"Maybe the lockers?"

Albus went over to the closest cupboard and tried to open it with his key. The key fit, but the door didn't open. He went on till the next one, while Malfoy started on the other edge of the room. None of the lockers seemed to open. When they met half ways Malfoy took Al's key and compared it to his.

"They're different," he stated. And then they carried on to the cupboards the other one had tried. After a while they both found one that would open.

Each locker contained one huge cardboard box, filled with white envelopes. They were heavy, so they had to help each other with carrying them to the desks.

All of the envelopes were closed, and they were blank on the outside.

"Do you think we're supposed to open them?" Malfoy asked and started to tear at an envelope. For some reason he couldn't open it. Albus tried one of the envelopes from his box, but it was impossible.

They used all means available. Their wands had been confiscated, so using magic was not an option, but they tried to rip the envelopes open with their hands, scratch holes in them with their fingernails and with a needle Malfoy had found. Nothing worked.

"Let's try to tear it apart together by pulling it in different directions," Al suggested and reached his envelope towards Malfoy who grabbed the other end.

At that moment, when the both of them held the envelope at the same time, it opened. Just like that, as if it never had been closed. Inside was a piece of paper with a black line on each side.

Al could see Scorpius' beautiful face light up, and he took out two new envelopes and reached them out to him to repeat the success. It didn't work.

"Damn it!" Scorpius muttered and lay down on the sofa. "I thought we had it figured out."

"Well…" Al tried, "it didn't work with those two, but there's probably a thousand more here. It might work on some of them."

"Oh, that's comforting! We'll just try a thousand times more."

"It's the only clue we've got."

"You're right," Scorpius said and stood up. "We'll find a way to do it quick."

After some thought they made four piles: one with all the unopened envelopes, one with the only empty envelope, one with the piece of paper and one with the envelopes that hadn't opened.

They sat down by the desks and started to work. Al took two envelopes at a time, one in each hand and gave them to Scorpius who tossed them into the correct pile. The one on the floor with all of those who didn't open. They worked in silence for ten minutes without results. When one finally opened, it was empty.

"What the fuck is this supposed to mean?" Al yelled.

"Let's take a break," Scorpius said, and the two of them lounged on the sofas for a few moments before Professor Twinkle suddenly unlocked the door and offered them some food.

"Are you boys hungry?" she asked politely and placed a tray with bread, cheese and tea on the table between the sofas.

Asking two teenage boys if they're hungry is quite unnecessary. Of course they are.

Twinkle left and the boys ate in silence until they had consumed it all. Then they continued sorting envelopes. They kept on for at least fifteen minutes before one opened, and then there were suddenly many of them that seemed willing to open. Some of them where empty, or with blank paper in them, while others had pieces of paper with signs on like the first one. The signs where usually letters and numbers.

They sorted envelopes for what seemed like an eternity. Most of them didn't open, and those who did were often empty, but from time to time they found pieces of paper or other surprises. They found a torn out page from a book, two keys and a note that said: _Try biting them._

"What the hell do you mean, biting?" Scorpius complained and started to chew on an envelope. "Do we have to _bite_ them together as well?"

Apparently that's just what they had to do, because after a few tries they managed to open one when both of them had it between their teeth. The envelopes where quite big, but it still felt like almost indirectly kissing Malfoy, Al thought.

Then they started to bite all the envelopes they had been unable to open before. A few of them opened and they found more pieces of paper with letters and numbers.

From time to time, Twinkle would come by with food or just to check that they weren't killing each other, and when night came she gave them pyjamas and turned the sofas into sofa beds.

They found toothbrushes in the bathroom and brushed their teeth before going to bed. Scorpius wanted to take a bath, and while he did so, Al tried the new keys in all the lockers. In one of them he found more envelopes, and in the other he found a huge bookshelf.

Scorpius just sighed when he saw it, and the two boys agreed that it was better to just leave it for tomorrow.

"Are you okay?" Al whispered when they were both in bed and the light was turned of.

"More or less," was the answer from Scorpius. "How about you?"

"I don't know." Al paused for a while before he continued. "You know I'm sorry, right? I'm really sorry."

"But that doesn't help, does it?" Scorpius said quietly.

"Why not? It's not as if I stopped liking you after that. I'll always be your friend, even if you don't want me to."

"That's how _you_ think. I'm the one who has to live with the shame."

"I understand that it was embarrassing for you, but we've all wanked before, Scorpius. It's not just you."

"But most people manage to do it without letting the entire school know."

"_I'm_ not the entire school, you know. It's not as if I went and told everyone," Al said.

"What?" Scorpius said surprised. "You didn't even tell Rose?"

"No. She knows that we had a fight, but I would never have told her what it was about. I know I tell her everything, but I wouldn't tell her something you'd want to keep secret."

"But she glares at me, as if I'm something disgusting. And the twins have been giving me these funny looks as well. Are you sure you didn't tell them?"

"Of course. Rose glares at you because we're not speaking anymore, and the twins are just the twins. They always seem to know a lot more about us than we think. They know we had a fight."

"Oh," Malfoy said.

None of them said anything more that night and Al fell asleep after a little while.

* * *

><p>When Al woke up the next morning he found a tray of breakfast and a note from Professor Twinkle.<p>

_Good luck with finding the password. You have to be finished by tonight, or I'll __make you start over again next weekend. _

_Professor Anwen Twinkle_

Scorpius was already up. He was reading the book page they had found.

"What does it say?" Al asked.

"Looks like it's a part of a novel. It's about a child looking for her mother. I've been looking for hints about the envelopes, but I can't find anything."

A child looking for her mother… Of course!

"We have to find the book it's torn out from," Al said and took the page from Malfoy. "It's page 82, but from what book?"

The two boys ran over to the bookshelf Al had opened the day before, eager now, and started to search for a book with a title that could fit. There were six shelves in the bookcase, and probably twenty to thirty books on each shelf. All of the books looked the same: dark blue with golden letters. They varied a bit in size, but it was still hard to tell them apart.

"This is hopeless," Scorpius said, "we should rather see if any of them lacks a page."

Then they started the search for a book with a missing page. Fortunately Scorpius found it quite soon. There was a message written on the final page.

_Do not slumber,_

_sort after number._

_Find what you've lost and see,_

_this is how life should be!_

Scorpius glared at it for a few moments. "What is this? Some sort of poem?"

"If it's a poem, it's not a very good one, is it?" Al laughed. "I guess it's a hint, or a riddle of sorts."

"Sort after number… Some of the notes we found had numbers, didn't they?"

"Yes, that's probably it. But let's open the rest of the envelopes first."

* * *

><p>After what was probably a few hours, the two boys begun to reach the bottom of the un-tried-envelopes-pile, holding and biting them as if they were machines in an assembly line. Take envelope, hold it, bite it, toss it away, new envelope, hold, bite, toss, and so on.<p>

Finally they were finished, and now they could finally start figuring out what the pieces of paper were for. They started with sorting them after number, like the poem had told them to. Most of them had a number on one side and a letter on the other.

"Do you think the one we found first, the one with a straight line on each side could be number one? If you look at the highest numbers such as twelve and sixteen here, you can see that the first digit is written as just a straight line," Malfoy said.

"Probably. But what about this?" Al asked and held up another piece of paper. "Is this a zero with an E on the other side, or is it number three with an O on the other side?"

And they kept on like that for a while. A few more difficulties came up, such as a note with the number ten on one side and seven on the other. It didn't take long before they were finished, though. Some piles had only one or two pieces of paper, while the sixteenth pile had as much as nine. A few notes didn't have a number, but weird signs such as a rune or a little flower instead. These were put aside.

"It's probably words, and when we get them right, we have the password, don't you think?" Scorpius said. If they flipped the pieces of paper from number-side to letter-side they had this:

_I liwl otn ruth my tesb endirf gaina. Kockn 7 tesim hewn uoy __veah eth rdsopaws. _

After a few moments of thought they found out that it was supposed to be:

_I will not hurt my best friend again. __Knock 7 times when you have the password._

"I guess," Al said slowly. "That the first sentence is the password, and now that we've found it we have to knock seven times on the door."

"What about the flowers and the runes?"

"Perhaps they were just to confuse us?"

Scorpius smiled. "I think I know what the last part of the poem meant as well. _Find what you've lost and see, this is how life should be!_ I guess the thing we lost was our friendship. I'm sorry for being such an ass this year. And sorry for thinking that you told everyone."

"You can trust me," Al said and smiled. "Friends again?"

"Friends!"


	16. Chapter 16

**_A/N: What's the opposite of writer's block? :P_**

**Back to normal**

The two Slytherin boys were finally friends again (though it was still a secret), and their lives went back to normal. They started reading together again and it seemed to Al that they were even closer now than they had ever been before. They could talk about almost all sorts off stuff.

"Hey, Al," Scorpius said one evening. "Last year you read a lot of romance novels, didn't you?"

"Yes," Al mumbled, a bit embarrassed at the thought of his love-research-period.

"Did you like them?"

"Definitely not! They were boring, and in most cases they were totally misleading, as if the authors didn't have a clue about what love really is."

"Do you?" Scorpius asked with a smile, and Al realized that he had said too much. He had almost revealed that he was in love, and he definitely couldn't tell Scorpius that he was in love with him. Not now that they had finally made up.

"Come on Al, tell me."

"Well," Al said, unsure of what to say next. "I don't know. I can't say that I have any experience with love, but I guess I know what it is."

"You say you have no experience with love, but I'm sure I can remember you telling me about kissing that annoying girl. What's her name? Jamie something…"

"Oh, please don't mention that!" Al said and hid his face behind his pillow. "She tries to kiss me all the time. I don't think it counts, though, since I don't like her that way."

"It surprises me that you like her in any way at all," Scorpius said and laughed. "At least you've kissed someone, though. I've never even been close. Unless you count that stupid envelope-biting-thing."

"Oh, I do count that," Al said. Then he got a book thrown at his face from across the room.

"When we had detention you said…" Scorpius mumbled, suddenly quiet and more serious. "You said that we've all wanked before. What exactly did you mean by that?"

"Uhm…" Al answered shyly. "I guess I meant that I've wanked too. In fact, I want to show you something."

The expression on Scorpius' face suggested that he expected to see Al do something very weird. It was a mix of horror and anticipation. What Al was going to show him was of course the Legendary Untitled Book of Porn.

"Wow," Scorpius whispered in awe. "Students at Hogwarts have made this?"

"Yes, it's a perverted time we live in, Scorpius."

"So, do you use this when you wank?" Scorpius asked innocently, as if that was a very normal thing to ask someone.

"Well," Al said slowly. He had to be careful now, if he wanted to avoid revealing anything. "I have used it, but there's not that much to my taste here."

"Really? You must be very picky, then. This book has everything."

"I know. It's pretty amazing."

"What do you like then?"

Damn it! What could he say? Al was the worst liar in the universe. Even if he told Scorpius some half-truth, it would be a total disaster. But since it was the only option he seemed to have, he gave it a try.

"I like blondes," he said and tried not to blush.

"There's lot's of blondes here, though."

"Damn it," he muttered silently, but not silently enough.

"Oh, I get it!" Scorpius said eagerly. "You don't like blondes in general, but one blonde in particular. Am I right?"

"Uh, I guess," Al said. He felt his sub consciousness give in.

"Hm… Who do you know who is blond? April Winter?"

"No."

"Professor Twinkle?"

"What? Seriously, Syd," Al shouted.

"Okay, I guess not… Curly or straight hair?"

"Straight."

"Long or short?"

"Quite long."

"Eh… Is that girl from Hufflepuff? The one who's so shy and quiet that even the teachers forget her name?"

"No."

"Rose's friend? Who's going out with your cousin Fred?"

"No. Is her hair even blond?"

"Maybe it's more light brown, I don't know. But if it's none of them, I don't have any idea of who it can be," Scorpius said.

"Can you think of no one?"

Scorpius shook his head.

"Well, then," Al said, a little disappointed. "I guess we'd better go to bed before it gets to late. We don't want any prefects to take our house points for staying up late."

The two boys changed into their pyjamas and went to the bathroom. While Scorpius brushed his teeth, he looked himself in the mirror.

"I have long, straight, blond hair," he whispered.

"You do," Al whispered back.

Scorpius looked at Al for a long time, until Al shied away and stared into the sink in front of him.

"Well," Scorpius said. "I didn't see that coming."

"Me neither."

Scorpius looked as if he didn't know what to do, what to say or even where to stand. He twinned his hair nervously like a little girl.

"For how long?" he asked.

"For a while, I guess."

"What about when you walked in on me?"

"Probably. Look, it's difficult, okay. I don't understand half of it myself and I didn't really mean to tell you now," Al said and began to walk towards the door. He just wanted to escape from the awkward atmosphere in the bathroom.

"Hey, don't go," Scorpius said and put his hands on Al's shoulders. "I didn't mean to be angry or turn you down or anything. I mean… Eh…"

And then he kissed him.

It was better than anything Al had ever felt. It was totally different from being kissed by Jamie Thomas. Scorpius' lips were thinner and harder, and hey! – was that his tongue?

Time was impossible to keep track of in a situation like that, and it was also completely pointless. The only thing Al knew was that the kiss ended too soon.

Scorpius pulled away and said something about it being time to head back to the bedroom before someone found them. Al just followed after.

None of them said a word. They just went to bed as if nothing had happened. As if this was just another Friday night. Al wondered if things would ever be the same again.

* * *

><p>The next morning, Al woke up to the smell of fried eggs and bacon.<p>

"Good morning, Al," Scorpius said. He had already dressed up and was now making his bed. "Things got sort of awkward in the end last night, so I thought I'd make it up to you by smuggling the breakfast in here."

He brought Al a plate with egg and bacon and gave him a glass of pumpkin juice. They sat in Al's bed and ate breakfast together.

"Thanks," Al whispered shyly when he had finished his meal. "You didn't need to do it, though. The kiss sort of weighed up for all the awkwardness."

Scorpius smiled one of those beautiful, greedy smiles that indicated that he had achieved what he wanted.

"I can kiss you again if you like," he said and cleared away the rest of the empty plates.

"Go on."

Scorpius sat down in front of Al on the bed, leaned in and kissed him softly. Al closed his eyes and wrapped his arms around Scorpius' back. The kiss got more and more heated, and Al could feel a pair of hands tugging his hair carefully.

Albus leaned forward and pushed Scorpius down on his back. He kissed him hard and passionately. He didn't think anymore, but followed his instincts instead. Al started to move his lips further down to Scorpius' neck where he sucked and licked, and he could hear moans of pleasure coming from the boy underneath him.

Things started to happen down in Al's pyjama pants as well. And he could feel through the soft fabric that something was going on in his friend's trousers too. Wow. That was one massive boner! He could remember the vision of Scorpius naked and it turned him on even more.

Al moved his hand down to Malfoy's pants and placed it on the bump that was Scorpius' penis. Slowly and carefully he started to rub it and he heard Scorpius groan softly.

"No," Scorpius whispered and Al pulled away. "Not yet. I'm not ready for that yet."

"Okay," Al said and smiled. "I guess I got a little carried away."

Then they lay beside each other until heart rates went back to normal again. Al closed his eyes and let Scorpius' fingers gently caress his chin. Was this real, or was it all a fantasy? Could it really be true that Scorpius loved him back?

"Al?" Scorpius whispered.

"What?"

"What are you thinking about? You look worried?"

"I was just wondering… if this is a dream or something. Seems quite unlikely that you should just happen to… like me."

"I think I've liked you since the very beginning. Since we first met, really."

"Not that kind of 'like me.'"

"No, I know. But I always thought you were cute," Scorpius said and smiled. "It was some sort of love at first sight."

"I don't take 'cute' as a compliment you know."

"But you are cute. In a very macho way. It's a bit disturbing actually."

Al punched him in the chest.

"Ow!" Scorpius complained. "I'll repay you for that," he said, and used his arms and legs to pin Al to the bed, planted a kiss on his cheek, and then they were at it again.


	17. Chapter 17

**The end of another year**

Being boyfriends with Scorpius Malfoy had certainly improved Albus' life. The days went by more or less like they always had; they went to class as enemies and returned to the dorms as friends. They read books in the evenings like they had used to, but they also spent a lot of time cuddling, snuggling and snogging.

Scorpius never allowed Al to take it any further than snogging, though. Al really wanted to touch him and make him feel good, but he always stopped when he understood that Scorpius thought it had gone too far.

Rose seemed to have the opposite problem with her boyfriend. Al had (of course) told her about his new relationship with Malfoy, and they often talked about the ups and downs of having a boyfriend.

"I just don't understand what he wants," Rose said, a bit upset. She had summoned him to the Gryffindor common room to discuss her new plan, which was teaching her how to play Quidditch – a lack of talent she shared with her mother. For some reason the topic had changed from flying lessons to boyfriend troubles.

"We spend so much time together: we go on dates, we sneak away to snog in private, we even do our homework together. I almost have no time to be with you or my other friends. And when we stop kissing, it seems as if he's still not satisfied."

"Perhaps he wants something more than just a kiss?" Al suggested.

"Do you think so? I can't understand what that could be. I'm not… that attractive or anything."

"I think you're quite beautiful," Al said, and Rose turned completely red.

"Thanks Al. But I mean… I don't have a very… womanly body figure. I don't have breasts."

"Yes, you do."

"They're flat!"

"Look, Rose. I'm sure Gordon loves you for who you are – flat chest or not. Maybe small breasts turn him on. Have you let him touch them yet?"

"Al, that's sort of private," Rose said and blushed even more.

"You know you don't have to be embarrassed about telling me. I won't judge you."

"I've sort of refused him to, 'cause I think he'll be disappointed. You know, when he notices how small they really are."

"Maybe it disappoints him more that you turn him down. Of course you shouldn't let him touch you if it makes you uncomfortable, but if it doesn't, maybe you should give it a try. Trust him."

"Hm…" Rose said thoughtfully. "Do you still have that book? The Legendary Untitled?"

"I've got it in my room, but I can bring it to you later. And remember: I'm certain that Gordon thinks you're beautiful. I see it in the way he looks at you."

"Thanks, Al," she said and smiled.

When Al asked her a few weeks later how things were going with her and Gordon, she just winked at him and said that things were going much better.

"How about you and Malfoy?"

"Well. It's great, but still… It's only two weeks left of the school year, and he still won't let me touch him. It's frustrating, but I don't want him to be uncomfortable, so I just pretend that it's okay."

"Maybe he's just scared like I was," Rose said and tried to comfort him.

"But what can I do about that?"

"I don't know? Stop pushing it, wait until he feels more comfortable with being close to you, and then you can proceed slowly. Just don't get too carried away."

"Maybe I'll try that," Al said. He knew it would be difficult, but it was probably worth it if that was the only way into Scorpius' pants.

When he returned to the dormitory later that day, he found Scorpius waiting for him. The beautiful, blond Slytherin was lying on his bead, reading as usual, and when he heard Al entering the room he got up and ran over to kiss his boyfriend firmly on the lips.

"Where have you been all day, Cole?" he asked and looked him in the eyes. "You've neglected me."

Al chuckled and kissed back. "Sorry. I've been with Rose."

Scorpius wrapped his arms around Al's neck, and the kiss continued. The two boys started to breath heavily, and Al could feel something growing in his boyfriend's pants.

Why couldn't he just let Albus touch him? _I could make you feel so good_, Al thought, but he resisted the urge to open Scorpius' zipper and put his hand inside.

Suddenly Scorpius pulled away.

"Al," he said. "Maybe we shouldn't be doing this."

"Why not?" Al asked bewildered.

"Well, it's the summer holyday soon, and then we won't be seeing each other for two months. I don't like goodbyes."

"That doesn't make any sense at all, Scorpius! If we won't see each other for two months, then we should enjoy the little time we have left as much as possible."

"And then it'll be even sadder when we leave King's Cross. It's easier to part as friends."

"But we'll see each other again in September," Al said. "And I'm sure we can find a way to meet during the summer holiday too."

"I'm sorry, Albus, but I can't see how that will work out. We have to end this now before it starts to hurt. We can't be more than friends anymore."

"But I don't wanna be just friends, Scorpius. Not when we're at school, and not while we're home."

"You know what, Al? That's the problem with you. It's never enough for you, is it? You always have to push things a bit too far; and you're never satisfied with how things are," Scorpius said angrily.

"Of course I'm satisfied with how things are," Al shouted. He couldn't believe what he heard. Things had been perfect just a minute ago, and now they were fighting again.

"I know I sometimes get ahead of myself, but it's not because I'm not content. I just get carried away, that's all. I always stop when you tell me to. All I want is to be with you!"

"That's enough, Al. I'm done with this conversation."

Late at night Al could hear Scorpius cry himself to sleep. Al was too sad to cry.

When they woke up next morning the room was filled with an awkward silence. The two boys looked at each other for a while.

"I'm still your friend," Scorpius whispered.

"That's great, Scorpius," Al answered sarcastically and left the room.

The last two weeks of the school year were awful, but Al tried his best to not be angry at his friend. The last thing he wanted was to lose Scorpius again. Friends were better than nothing after all. He laughed and smiled everyday, no matter how much it hurt.

Scorpius was also troubled, but did his best to hide it. It was a stupid situation to be in. They were both in love with each other, they shared a room, and pretended that it was okay to be just friends.

The summer holiday came, and Al was happy to escape the horrible awkwardness of the Slytherin dorms.


	18. Chapter 18

**A beautiful day**

It was a beautiful summer day, and the Potters were heading home after three weeks in the summer house they shared with the rest of the Weasley clan. They travelled by floo powder and ended up in the living room in their house in Godric's Hollow.

Al hurried upstairs with his bag and put it in his room. It was wonderful to be home again. Al loved to be at the summer house, but there's really no place like home.

The Potters' house was big and beautiful. It had once been a little cottage, but over the years it had been expanded over and over again. The original house had been more or less preserved, and the rest of the house was built around it and various times and in many different styles and materials. Therefore you could see a cute, little stone cottage growing out of the eastern wall like an old tree. Outside that part of the house there was a flower garden with roses and lilies and magical herbs.

Al's room was on the fourth floor; in the newest part of the house. While the room he shared with Lily in the summer house was bright and simple – almost bare, this room was filled with things: furniture, useless crap and decorations only Al understood. The walls were painted pale blue – almost grey, and on the shortest wall he had a huge glass door that led to a balcony. The balcony was on the same side as the backyard (which was enormous), and one could see all the way down to the town centre. Al and James had tied ropes from the balcony to a giant tree in the middle of the yard and made a suspension bridge over to a tree hut their father had built for them when Al was little.

It had been years since the last time James and Al played together in the tree hut. The two brothers often fought, but they could be very good friends too. Now Al only crossed the home made bridge if he didn't want anyone to find him.

On sunny days like this one, Al liked to sit on his balcony and read. He had a chair and a little table out there. It was a wonderful place.

He sat there and read for about half an hour before his mum called for him. The entire family ate lunch together in the flower garden. It was one of those perfect moments when everyone was happy and you could hear the birds sing and there was nothing to disturb the peace. Al even forgot for a while that he was suffering from severe heartbreak.

When everyone had eaten more than they should and there was no more toast left, Al brought a glass of pumpkin juice and some cookies to his balcony and sat down to read the end of the second book in a trilogy called The Tales of the Lost Elves.

It was good to escape into another world for a while. The sound and smell of summer blended in with the story, and somehow the book seemed even more real than reality itself. When the heroine finally ran away on the back of a giant bird Al could feel the wind in his hair and hear the gentle thuds of wings coming closer. He didn't notice that it was a real bird he heard until it landed on his head.

Al recognised Scorpius' owl at once. It was a beautiful bird, and Al had learned to know him well over the past summers. Al took untied a white envelope from the owl's foot and offered him a bit of the last cookie, which the owl kindly refused.

_Albus,_

_I've made a big mistake, and I'm deeply sorry. I wanted to apologize to you in person, but you made that quite difficult for me, not replying to any of my letters. Please, Al, I beg you to forgive me for what I've done to you. I know I don't deserve it, but give another chance. I need you._

_You know where to find me._

_Scorpius._

Shit. Suddenly Al felt horrible. He had been too heartbroken to answer his best friend's letters. He had been angry and sad. Scorpius had hurt him, and Al didn't want to see him or speak to him at all. Still, Al was in love, and that feeling sort of overrode all the other feelings he had at that moment.

He looked at his watch – it was too late to go to London now, but he had plenty of time tomorrow. He read the letter over and over again, but then he had to put it away before he started to overanalyze and misinterpret things. Scorpius hadn't written that he wanted to be his boyfriend again, so it was best not to get his hopes up. Nerves and excitement kept Albus from finishing his book, and when the sun went down he couldn't fall asleep. Boyfriends or not, Al couldn't wait to see Scorpius again.

* * *

><p>Immediately after breakfast the next morning Al dressed up in his nicest jeans and a grey shirt and flooed to the Leaky Cauldron. He smiled to the serving girl who he knew from school.<p>

The streets of the Muggle London were crowded. Summer tourists wandered around with maps and shopping bags looking for the closest metro or how to get to Piccadilly Circus. Al walked for about fifteen minutes and stopped outside of a book shop.

It was rather small, and the Muggles inside were strange. They dressed in weird clothes and dyed their hair in all sorts of colours. Looking at peculiar Muggles was however not the point of going to this shop. Al had discovered it last summer. They sold almost only fantasy and science fiction novels. The great thing with this shop was that none of the customers would raise as much as an eyebrow if a clumsy wizard like Al should happen to speak too loudly of magical things, and no other wizards ever went there. It was the perfect place for Al and Scorpius to meet in secret.

The shop also had a café on the second floor where the customers could have a cup coffee and read their newly purchased books. Al bought a chocolate chip cookie and sat down at the furthest table and finished reading the book about an elf who escaped from her terrible destiny on the back of a giant bird.

* * *

><p>Al saw him even before he entered the room. Scorpius' long blond hair reached almost down to his hips now, and he was as taller than ever. Albus couldn't resist smiling when the silver gray eyes met his. Scorpius hurried over to Al's table and embraced him.<p>

"That letter was the worst cliché I've ever seen, Scorpius," he said when they finally let go.

"I know," Scorpius said and laughed. "I meant every word of it, though. I need to be your boyfriend again."

"It's because we're meant to be," Al whispered dramatically, and Scorpius leaned down to kiss him softly.

"Maybe we are."

_A/N: _

_Couldn't keep them apart for long =P_

_Wait for the next chapter! And remember: eat more cookies._


	19. Chapter 19

**_A/N: It's been a looooong time, and I don't know if anyone's still reading this, but if there are, I hope you will be happy with this new chapter. It's _The Chapter_. I've had it in my computer for months, but never bothered to upload before now. _  
><strong>

**_Enjoy!  
><em>**

* * *

><p><strong>An even better day<strong>

The strange sensation of using floo powder as means of transportation always caught Albus a little off guard. He just couldn't get used to it, even after several visits to his friend Syd throughout the summer. At least that's where he told his parents he was going. It wasn't a secret that Draco Malfoy and Harry Potter were on bad terms, so their sons still didn't dare tell anyone about their relationship.

Draco Malfoy worked a lot, even during summer, so Scorpius often had the Manor to himself. The first time he went there Al had been very nervous and afraid. What would they do if Mr. Malfoy returned to early from work?

It turned out to be nothing to worry about. Malfoy Manor was huge, and Scorpius had a fireplace connected to the Floo Network in his room, so it was easy to escape quickly. Draco Malfoy always entered through the front door which was a long way from Scorpius' room.

Al flooed into Scorpius' room exactly eleven thirty, as they had planned. Mr. Malfoy wouldn't be back before seven o'clock that evening.

"Hi, baby," Scorpius said and grinned. He was waiting for Al in a chair in front of the fireplace with a thick book in his hands.

"Hi," Al replied and took of his shoes. He went over to Malfoy's chair and kissed him.

Scorpius pulled Al closer, and the kiss got more and more heated until they were both short of breath.

"Albus," Scorpius whispered.

"Yes?"

"The summer's over soon."

"I know," Al said and smiled. Scorpius was up to something.

"There's one thing I want to do before school starts again," Malfoy said and went over to the other end of the room. "Come here," he said and waved Al over to a soft bed covered with silk sheets in grey and silver colours.

Al walked awkwardly across the room, suddenly nervous. Scorpius kissed him gently and placed his hands on Al's hips. Carefully he started to move his hand upwards, finding naked skin under the t-shirt.

It was such a soft touch, and Scorpius' hands were so warm. Then he began to pull at Al's t-shirt. Albus helped him take it off before he started to carefully unbutton his boyfriend's shirt.

For a while Al just stood there, staring, gently touching his boyfriend's bare chest, while he felt Scorpius' hands carefully pulling him a little closer. Al gazed into beautiful silver grey eyes when he moved his fingers slowly down towards the buttons of Scorpius' jeans. There were two buttons, then a zipper, and now Scorpius wore nothing but his underwear.

A belt buckle, a button and zipper later the two boys were tangled together in the soft, grey silks, kissing and touching and sweating.

"I'm not afraid anymore," Scorpius said. Al didn't answer, but reached carefully down to relieve his boyfriend of the last piece of clothing. It was a wondrous feeling to hold another boy's private parts in his hand. He caressed and stroked and felt how Scorpius' responded to his touch. Al was exited too, and he couldn't tell who of them moaned the most.

Scorpius' warm hands finally found the way into Al's underwear too. The feeling of another boy's hands on his private parts was indescribable, and he could feel that they were both reaching their limits. Before long they came together in the silver grey bedsheets.

It was magical.


	20. Chapter 20

**The new boy**

Al and Rose had the compartment to themselves on the Hogwarts Express this year. It had been a few weeks since last time they saw each other, so it was good to be alone for a while before their fifth year began.

Albus remembered the first time they travelled with the Express, how nervous they both had been, and how different everything was now. He had a picture in his wallet of him and Rose on the platform the day they said goodbye to their parents for the first time. They had looked so different back then. Especially Rose.

On the picture, Rose was almost chubby, with unruly red hair and flushed cheeks. Now she looked almost like a woman. Now she was tall and slender, and her hair was wavy, rather than fuzzy. A few freckles over the nose gave colour to her pale face, and she had started to wear a little make up. He could even see a hint of breasts under her uniform shirt. The book in her lap, the way she had her legs crossed and her new reading glasses made her look just like a model taken straight out of a magazine. Had Al changed that much as well?

"What's the matter, cousin?" she asked when she noticed that he was staring.

"I'm just admiring your beauty."

A smile spread across Rose's face. "I'd hex you for that comment if I didn't know you were gay!"

Al laughed and tossed a chocolate bar at her. "What are you reading?"

"Liina's Fairytale," she said and tore the paper off the chocolate.

"A novel?"

"Yes," Rose replied, as if that was nothing unusual. "I'm widening my horizons."

"Wow. Are you not dragging me into some crazy project this year?" Al didn't know if he should be happy about that or not.

"I might be, but I haven't decided anything yet. Do you have any ideas?"

"No."

"By the way, I have to give away the Legendary Untitled. I know a girl who needs it."

"Sure. How are things with you and Gordon?"

Rose looked away and waited a long time before she found an answer.

"We met once last week, and... It wasn't that special really. Our kisses used to be more exciting, and he seemed a little bored. It was different earlier this summer, before he went to visit relatives in Ireland. We couldn't see each other for weeks, because when he returned I went to Italy with my family."

"I'm sure it'll sort itself out before too long."

Rose nodded and went back to reading. Al was too excited to read. He was going to see Scorpius again, and they were having the dorms all to themselves for a year, and Scorpius was willing to do all sorts of things with him now. Maybe they even would have real sex soon. No, it was best not to think about that now. Rose might react if she saw her cousin suddenly drooling for no reason. It was only a few hours before Al could be alone with his boyfriend, and all he could do now was to wait patiently.

* * *

><p>The feast was as fabulous as always. Al watched the sorting and welcomed the new students to his house with a smile, but in truth he could think about little else than Scorpius, Scorpius and Scorpius. This year was going to be the best year ever!<p>

When all the first year students were sorted into their new houses Professor Twinkle, who led the sorting, announced that they had two transfer students this year. They were identical twins of Albus' age; tall, tanned and dark haired. Al couldn't help thinking that they were very handsome.

"Michael and Tyler Long just moved here from America with their parents and will join us here at Hogwarts as fifth graders. Please make them feel at home, and remember that they are wizards just like us, even though they come from a country far away. But first we have to sort them into houses. You first, Michael," Twinkle said and showed him to the chair.

"Hm..." the Hat murmured. "Hm... A clever boy. Very clever... Ravenclaw!"

The boy smiled uncertainly and went to sit with his new house. The Hat spent more time sorting his twin brother, muttering and grumbling for a long while before deciding.

"A boy of many qualities... Could do well in any house, but it has to be: Gryf... No, Slytherin!"

Everyone around him cheered for their new classmate, but Al didn't know what to think. He looked across the table and found Scorpius' eyes, they were both too shocked to join the applause.

They had grown so used to having their dorms to themselves, and now they had to welcome some stranger into their own private world. Where were they supposed to go when they wanted to be alone?

How could they possibly keep their secret now?

April Winter and Frida were the first to welcome Long to the Slyherin table and made room for him on the bench between them.

"So you're from America," April said. "That's really exciting."

"I'm Canadian," he said and smiled, showing off a row of perfect, white teeth. Frida and April giggled in a way that Al found extremely annoying.

"Why did you move here?" Frida asked him.

"My father got a job offer he couldn't say no to, so the whole family moved. Mike and I could have stayed at our school in Canada and visited our family here in the weekends and vacations, but this is said to be the best school there is, so we decided to transfer."

Tyler Long seemed to be a very nice guy who got along with most people, but when Al was about to introduce himself to him Professor Twinkle announced that the feast was over and that it was time for everyone to go to bed.

April and two younger Slytherin girls chatted with Long all the way, telling him about the staircases, the paintings and all the mysterious and wonderful things they passed on their way to the dungeons. Albus and Scorpius didn't get to talk to the new boy before they were in the dormitories.

"So you're my new roomies?" Tyler Long said in his Canadian accent.

"Yes," Scorpius answered and shook Long's hand. "I'm Scorpius Malfoy and this is Potter."

"Potter," Long said and smiled. "Like Harry Potter, haha... You know, Harry the Hero."

"Harry the Hero?" Scorpius asked and glanced confused over at Al.

"That's what they call him in America," he explained.

"What do you call him?" Long asked.

"The Boy Who Lived."

"I call him Dad."

"What?" Long was absolutely shocked. "Really?"

"Yes. Harry Potter's my father."

"Wow."

"It's not that special," Al said and smiled. "He's just a normal guy, really."

"It must be awesome, though, to have a father like that."

Al noticed that Scorpius pretended to be very annoyed with the subject, like it was expected of a Malfoy.

"He is amazing, yes, but not in a spectacular way, if you know what I mean."

The three boys talked about their families for a little while before going to bed. Al learned that Long's mother was a muggle, and that his sister was nineteen years old and had a baby.

Al and Scoprius did their very best to pretend that they didn't like each other; a great challenge for a bad liar like Albus. His boyfriend didn't make it any easier for him, because every time Long looked away he sent Al dirty looks and made naughty gestures.

It was almost a relief when the Head Boy came to tell them that they had to turn the lights off and go to bed. Al found that he had missed his bed in the far corner of the room, and as he fell asleep to the sound of Long's light snores he decided that getting a new room-mate wasn't that bad after all.


	21. Chapter 21

**Rose's New Plan**

Albus hurried through the corridors. Up the stair, then left towards the painting of the red trees and through the grey door that led to an empty class room with faded blue walls. There was only one desk in the middle of the room, and two lockers in the back.

He opened the right hand locker with the key Scorpius had given him earlier that day. He stepped inside and locked the doors behind him. He placed two hands on the back panel and pushed with all his strength, and as the wall slowly opened like a door in front of him Al could see that he was inside a new corridor. It was dark and short and the end wall was covered with a beautiful tapestry with flower motives.

Al looked behind the tapestry and found a new door. He wondered how Scorpius had discovered this place, and why it even existed. It didn't matter, though, because no one would ever find them there.

Albus entered a beautiful, brightly lit room. The floor was made of dark teak, and the only pieces of furniture were an old leather sofa and a low table.

Scorpius was waiting for him on the sofa, reading a book as usual.

"It's nice here, isn't it?" he asked.

Al nodded and sat down next to him. They looked at each other for a short while before Scorpius pulled Albus close and kissed him softly on the mouth. His long, pale fingers began to unlace Al's uniform pants.

Al let his boyfriend undress him, touch him, and he moaned loudly as he felt those warm fingers closing around his erection. He could see the lust in Malfoy's eyes and feel the heat that radiated from his body.

Scorpius was surprisingly rough with Al's cock, never pausing for a second. Albus managed to sneak his own hand into his lovers underpants and started to stroke his swollen member gently.

"Albus..." Malfoy whispered and kissed his boyfriend passionately. "I love you."

Al came the moment he heard those words, and Scorpius followed only a few strokes after.

"Wow," Scorpius panted. "That was amazing."

Al couldn't say anything, so he just kissed him again. They had never said 'I love you' to each other before. They were quiet for a long while, snuggling and catching their breath.

"We should be going... Professor Twinkle has something important to tell us at dinner," Scorpius said and used a spell to clean up the mess they'd made.

"Yeah," Al muttered and pulled his underwear back on. "But Scorpius..."

"Yes?"

He stared at his shoes and fidgeted with the lacing of his uniform pants. "I love you too."

Scorpius lit up and threw his arms around Al's neck and squeezed him tightly.

"You look so cute when you're embarrassed. Your face turns completely red, and it's just... totally adorable!"

Al smiled and let his fingers run through his lovers long, blond hair. He stared into Malfoy's silver grey eyes and said, confidently this time, "I love you too."

The kiss that followed was long, wet and intense, and when they finally broke it off, Al was breathless and panting again.

"We really have to go to the Great Hall now," Scorpius said.

Al nodded and went out first. They couldn't return together, of course. Al could only imagine what would happen if someone like James or Scorpius' friend Nott saw the two of them together.

If their fathers knew about their secret relationship, or worse, if Uncle Ron heard... Albus didn't want to think about it. He hurried down to the Great Hall and sat down next to Eirian. Scorpius arrived a few minutes later.

Today's dinner was tomato soup and garlic bread. When Albus had finished half his soup Professor Twinkle rose from the teachers' table and demanded attention.

"It has just been confirmed that there will be held a tournament this year. A tournament between many different schools from all over the world. Each school will send three teams with seven students in each. It will not be as dangerous as the Triwizard Tournament, but probably just as challenging, and definitely a lot more fun. Think of this as a great opportunity to make friends from other schools, and also other Houses. Everyone over the age of fifteen can sign up for the competition, but make sure to do it before next Friday when we will hold the selection."

Al could see Rose staring at him intensely from the Gryffindor table.

"If you're not seventeen yet you'll need your parents' consent. Consent forms and further information about the tournament will be found in the common rooms."

Al could almost hear Rose's mind working from across the Hall. They were definitely joining the tournament.

* * *

><p>"Did your parents consent?"<p>

Rose had dragged him along to the library again.

"Yes."

"Great. So they're going to choose seven students from our year to form Team One, seven sixth years for Team Two and so on. We will not compete against Team Two and Three, but against students our own age from other schools," Rose said and pointed in the information brochure. Al had already read it, but let his cousin carry on with the explanation anyway. She was very pumped up about this.

"There are eight participating schools, and the tournament lasts for six months and will be held at Tormundsheim Academy for Magical Education. That's somewhere in Scandinavia. The Beauxbatons will be there, some Egyptian school, one from China and several others. Are you ready to show them all which school's the best?"

Al nodded, suddenly feeling the irrational importance of winning the tournament.

"Write your name on this piece of paper."

And that was it. Al had signed up for a tournament that would take him away from Hogwarts for half a year. That meant six months away from many of his friends – possibly six months without Scorpius. Could Albus handle that?

* * *

><p>"To help us select the most able students for the tournament we have the Sorting Hat. Can all the students who wish to participate please form a line in front of the teachers' table?"<p>

Professor Longbottom and Professor Twinkle were leading the selection. When Al, Rose, Scorpius and all the others had lined up, Twinkle placed the Hat on each and everyone's head.

It was completely quiet in the Great Hall as everyone waited in anticipation. Albus could see Lilly's sullen face in the Gryffindor crowd. He knew how much she had wanted to join and felt sorry for her. For a few seconds he wished that the Hat wouldn't choose him, so that he didn't have to say goodbye his sister.

James was also hoping to be chosen for the tournament, along with his Ravenclaw girlfriend, his best friend Daniel Parker and several other seventh year students. Many of Al's cousins were also waiting in line in front of the teachers' table. Frida and Eirian were there, Jamie Thomas (_Please, dear Sorting Hat,_ Al thought. _Don't choose her!_) and Rose's boyfriend Gordon.

The Hat seemed to take forever before it finally was ready to announce the teams.

"Team One," it started suddenly. "Consists of one Gryffindor student, two from Ravenclaw, one Hufflepuff and three Slytherins: Rose Weasley, Sarah Parker, Michael Long, David Morris, Albus Potter, Scorpius Malfoy and Eirian Twinkle."

_Yes_, Al thought. _Yes!_

He was going to Tormundsheim. He was going to Tormundsheim with Rose and Scorpius and Eirian. He was so excited that he didn't hear Eirian's surname, nor did he think about how she would be able to participate without talking.

None of that mattered though. He saw Lilly's face again, and she was cheering for him, even though she was going mad with jealousy.

James was also chosen, as well as all of their cousins and some of James' friends.

After the selection, Professor Longbottom announced that he and Professor Twinkle would come with them to supervise, and that they had chosen ten other students to serve as "staff." Their task would mainly be cheering. Among those were Lilly, Hugo and their green haired friend, Frida, Scorpius' friend Nott and Tyler Long.

Al and Scorpius went to eat dinner at the Slytherin table and were met by cheers and applause. April Winter was not particularly happy since she was the only Slytherin from their year left at Hogwarts.

When they had eaten, Al and Scorpius had to hurry to Quidditch practice.

"We're now facing a huge crisis!" the team captain announced, a seventh year called Danny Anderson. "I've decided to quit the Slytherin team, because I need to focus on my grades this year. Therefore I've chosen a new team captain for you. Unfortunately, he's going to Sweden or wherever to compete in a bloody tournament! And so is five other members of our team. What are we going to do? We have no fucking team left!"

"The other teams are probably in the same situation," Malfoy said reassuringly. "The Gryffindor team has lost their Keeper, their Seeker, both Beaters and a Chaser. With almost all the Weasleys gone, there's nothing left of the Gryffindor and Ravenclaw teams. We just have to arrange new try outs and hope to find someone who knows how to fly a broom."

Anderson was still not pleased and pushed his team to the limit during the Quidditch practice. Al had never looked more forward to hit the showers, but the captain kept them going for two and a half hour.

While all the other hurried to get dressed and head back to the dungeons, Al and Scorpius took their time in the shower, carefully making sure that no one noticed as they peeked at each others' naked bodies. When everyone had left the changing room, Al locked the doors and cast a silencing spell.

"You're beautiful," he whispered and went to stand in front of his boyfriend under the raining roof that served as showers.

Scorpius was about two inches taller than Al, and had long, blond hair that reached down to the small of his back. When he dressed in traditional wizard's robes, he looked exactly like a true, noble Malfoy. When he dressed in his muggle clothes he looked like someone from a rock band.

When he was naked, Scorpius looked like an angel.

Scorpius bent down to kiss him, and Al felt his cock growing as their wet, naked bodies touched. Scorpius kissed Al on the neck, moving steadily further down his chest, towards his groin. Al felt the long, blond hair brushing against his hipbone as Malfoy carefully kissed his growing erection.

It was like nothing Al had ever felt before. Until now, they had only given each other hand jobs, but this was turning out to be something completely different. Scorpius took Al's swollen cock in his mouth and sucked, licked and kissed it. When Al thought that everything was perfect, his cock went even further into Malfoy's mouth, and it didn't take long before Al shuddered and came violently into his lover's mouth.

He collapsed into Scorpius' arms and kissed him hard on the lips. Scorpius laid down on his back on the wet bathroom floor with Al on top.

"Now it's your turn," he whispered.

Malfoy's erection was throbbing with anticipation.

"Spread your legs," Al said and traced his fingers over his boyfriend's member and down to his butt. "I've read about this in the Legendary Untitled Book. Just relax."

Al pushed one finger gently inside Scorpius' opening and heard him whimper quietly.

"Do you like it?" Albus asked and inserted another finger.

"Yes," Scorpius groaned.

Al shoved his third finger in and thrust carefully back and forth. He took his lover's erection in his other hand and rubbed it gently. Malfoy panted and writhed in pleasure underneath him and moaned loudly as his cock finally burst, spilling his juice all over Al's chest.

Albus couldn't help but grin mischievously at the sight of his boyfriend, wet and naked on the tile floor, completely under Al's control.

"I think we'll have a great time in Sweden, Al," Scorpius whispered.

"I don't think Tormundsheim is in Sweden."

"Whatever."

"We should head back soon."

"Or perhaps we should wait a few minutes and start over again?"

Al laughed and kissed Scorpius' throat. They were at it again.

* * *

><p><em><strong>AN: Hope you liked this one =) I have great plans for the next chapters, and I fear this story will go on forever. Please leave reviews and tell me what you like or dislike about the story, the characters or anything else that's on your mind. You can also send me a PM.**_

_**Eat. More. Cookies!  
><strong>_

**C=  
><strong>


	22. Chapter 22

**Tormundsheim**

Rose and Al were on their way out of the great castle when they heard the sound of footsteps coming closer.

"Rosie!" Gordon shouted. "Rosie, change your mind!"

Rose's boyfriend was running towards them, and Al could see a hint of annoyance in his cousin's eyes. Gordon grabbed her shoulder and pulled her close.

"Skip this stupid tournament and stay here with me instead," he begged.

"Gordon... I don't know if that's what I want." They could both see the hurt in his eyes as Gordon realized Rose was breaking up. "And I don't think that's what you want either. Tell me the truth, now. What did really happen this summer?"

Gordon stared intently at his feet.

"Look me in the eyes and tell me," Rose shouted. "Tell me the truth about the girl you met in Ireland!"

"Her name's Anna, and it was just a summer fling. I don't love her the way I love you!"

"That's disgusting, Gordon," Rose said and turned away. "That you can still pretend to be in love with me."

Al took Rose's hand in his and walked with her to the horseless carriages by the gate. Lily had saved seats for them, and Albus was grateful that she and Hugo could help him dry Rose's tears. She cried for nearly an hour as the carriages lifted them to the sky and took them far away.

They landed in a town at the foot of a mountain late at night. Professor Longbottom told them that they were travelling by a transportation system called Tunnel Floo. You simply went through a tunnel and ended up in a completely different place. This was very effective for long distance travels with huge groups of people or cargo.

The professors talked with a wizard in a little red house and came back with a stack of stickers. They labelled each of the carriages so that all of them would reach the correct destination.

"Everyone has to stay in their seats while we're in the tunnel. Put your cloaks on, because it will be cold when we arrive."

The carriages started to move steadily through the town towards an opening in the mountain. It looked foggy inside. Rose was fast asleep, but Al thought she wanted to see this for herself so he woke her up. She seemed to have forgotten all about her broken heart as the fog slowly closed around them. Al felt a bit nauseous, but it passed quickly when the air cleared around them.

The night was dark on the outside, but the students could see that the ground was covered with snow. They huddled together in the cold November air, and Al saw that Lily's green haired friend had wrapped his arms around her. He wondered if they really were just friends, as Lily swore they were.

Al didn't get to ponder munch on that thought before he fell asleep. He didn't wake up before they arrived at Tormundsheim. The Scandinavian school was nowhere to be seen, but Professor Longbottom insisted that they had come to the right place. Al could hear him arguing with Professor Twinkle about it. They pointed at maps and looked around them, and even cast a pell to determine their exact position.

"They were supposed to lift the protection charms for us," Twinkle said.

"It's impossible to see anything in this darkness," Longbottom complained.

Suddenly a torchlight appeared out of nowhere.

"You must be from Hogwarts." The husky, heavily accented voice belonged to a tall man clad in woollen robes and a thick fur cloak. "I'm the deputy headmaster, my name is Stefan. I will take you to our school. Follow me."

The man morphed into a giant eagle and led them through a mountain pass. Al wished that he could do the same, but the professors might not be very pleased if he suddenly turned into an albatross and disappeared into the sky.

Instead of changing into his animal form, he held Rose's hand and tried to get a glimpse of his surroundings. His eyes were getting adjusted to the darkness, and he saw that they were near the end of the pass.

"Look," Rose said. "Torches!"

Al saw them too. At first there were only two of them, but as they came closer more lights appeared. They were in a valley, surrounded by snowy mountains at all sides. A hundred torches shone brightly, and Al noticed that they all were carried by students. It looked beautiful.

The horseless carriages landed on the cold, white ground in the middle of a circle of students. A few of them came closer and lit a giant fire that had been built on the ground. Others gave them each a bowl of steaming hot soup – it was thick and creamy and tasted incredible.

A tall and skinny woman clad in white wools and fur went to stand in the middle of the crowd.

"Welcome Hogwarts!" she said, and the students cheered and applauded. "Welcome to Tormundsheim. My name is Vibeke Larsen, and I'm the headmistress of this school. I know you must be cold and tired after the long journey from Scotland, so the only thing we're doing next is to take you to your rooms."

Then she said something in her own language and a few of the older students lined up in front of her.

"Fifth years, follow me," one of them said; a chubby boy with brown curls. Accompanied with a beautiful, blonde girl, he took them to something that Al had thought was a pile of snow, but turned out to be a stone cottage.

It was deliciously warm inside, and the two Tormundsheim students, Lasse and Karen immediately discarded their thick fur cloaks. Underneath they wore school uniforms made of black wool; Karen explained that they were inspired by traditional Norwegian folk costumes. Lasse wore breeches and a white linen shirt. Karen wore a black woollen dress over a similar white shirt.

"We will show you more of the school tomorrow," the boy said. "This is the entrance to the fifth years building."

The room they were in had only a fireplace, a few chairs and some paintings; the only door was the one leading out to the cold winter night. Al understood that this school probably had just as many secrets as Hogwarts.

"Turn the doorknob around 180 degrees and push the door open," Karen explained, and when she opened the door, they didn't find the snowy landscape on the outside, but a cosy living room. It reminded Al of the Gryffindor common room where he'd often visited his family. There were no students there now, but that was because it was the middle of the night.

"The door right ahead leads to the study hall, the one to the right takes you to the girls' corridor. Boys follow me to the left," Lasse said and showed the way to a corridor with many doors in all shapes and colours. One led to the study hall, one to the bathrooms and the rest led to fifteen separate bedrooms. Usually all students had one room each, but now they lived together in pairs to be able to accommodate all the guests.

"We're nine boys in our year, and we use the first five bedrooms. Three of you will share the room with the purple door and two of you will have to stay with Andreas this room," Lasse said and pointed to one of the five rooms that was occupied by the Tormundsheim students.

"How will we decide who lives where?" David Morris asked, a Hufflepuff with a thick Scottish accent. "Slytherins in one room, and Michael Long and me with the Swedish guy?"

Tyler Long nodded, Malfoy shrugged and that was the end of the discussion.

"Andreas is Norwegian, though," Lasse said and knocked on the door he'd pointed at. No one opened, so he let Michael Long and Morris in himself. Scorpius opened the purple door and Al followed in.

The room was bigger than he'd expected, and equipped with three soft beds, a desk and plenty of shelves, closets and dressers were they could store their belongings. The three boys chose a bed each, and Al thought back to their first day at Hogwarts. He'd been so nervous that day. It was different now; he was more confident and excited rather that scared.

After he had brushed his teeth Al went to bed and peeked at Scorpius undressing. He fell asleep with his mind full of his naked boyfriend.

* * *

><p>"Hundreds of years ago, this area was owned by an old Norwegian wizard called Tormund. He was a very clever wizard, and many parents sent their children to learn magic from him. That's the origin of our school," the headmistress explained as she showed them around, going from building to building. "Today we have students from all the Nordic Countries."<p>

The school grounds were huge, and surrounded by mountains. Seven stone cottages led the way to underground living quarters like the one Al and his friends stayed in. An old wooden house served as the teachers' home where they had their own rooms and studies. Vibeke Larsen told them that this was the house Tormund had lived in, magically preserved exactly as he left it.

"Do you all speak different languages?" Rose asked.

"Yes," the headmistress explained, "but they are all very similar, so we understand each other well. Language class is also mandatory for all students the first four years at Tormundsheim. The Nordic Wizarding Community is small, and it's important for us to understand each other."

Rose nodded eagerly as they were led into the dining hall.

"The tour ends here," Larsen said. "Find yourselves a seat and say what you want to eat."

Al, Rose, Frida and Eirian sat down by a round table. Rose cleared her throat and said "toast with ham and cheese, orange juice and a cup of tea," and it all appeared on the table in front of her.

"Where did you learn that?" Al asked astonished.

"You need to pay more attention, Albus. Eirian, is it true that Professor Twinkle's your sister?"

Albus gaped and Frida nodded. Eirian gazed absently at some Chineese students that just had entered the hall.

"Wow," Rose said. "That's amazing. It must be weird having your sister as a teacher."

"Not really," Frida said. "She's a very good teacher, so it doesn't matter if she's our sister. She keeps a close eye on us, though, and that sucks. She always knows what we're up to. It will be better here, because she'll have a lot of work to do and not much time to watch over us."

The two twins shared a mischievous smile.

"Have you seen how handsome Michael Long is?" Frida asked, suddenly changing the subject. "I used to be in love with Scorpius Malfoy, but after I saw the Long twins... Merlin, I can't decide who I like best. And Malfoy's taken anyway, as we all know."

Albus felt his heart beating faster and he started to panic. Did Frida and Eirian know everything? Of course they did, they always did. It was impossible to keep secrets from those two. But would they tell anyone about him and Scorpius?

"That's right," he said, and tried to sound confident.

"It's okay," Frida laughed. "Your secret is safe with us. But I wonder, aside from Scorpius, what kind of boys do you like?"

"I don't know," Al said. "There's really no one else."

"What about the Long twins? They're really good looking, aren't they?"

"I guess so," Al said and sighed.

"What about you, Rose? Are you over Gordon yet?"

Rose answered with a tiny smile and a nod. "I'm just relieved that it's over. I knew that he'd cheated on me the moment I looked into his eyes. Now I can't understand why I ever liked him at all."

"Maybe you'll find someone new here in Norway," Frida suggested, and then they talked about boys during the rest of the meal. Al's eyes wandered over to a table near them, where Scorpius sat with some sixth years; Otto Nott and some Ravenclaw girls.

Scorpius had seen Albus as well. He raised from his seat and left the dining hall. Al excused himself and followed after. They met in the bedroom they shared.

"Albus," Scorpius whispered and hugged him tightly. "Do me like you did that time in the showers."

"Tyler Long might come back here."

"He just started eating," Scorpius said reassuringly and cast a silencing spell. "Please?"

How could Al resist when his boyfriend begged like that? He wrapped his arms around Malfoy's back and kissed him hard and passionately. "We'll have to be quick, then."

Al lifted Scorpius up so he could sit on the desk next to the door and pulled his pants off. When Al sat down on his knees his head was of the same level as Scorpius' crotch.

"Place your feet on my shoulders," Al demanded and licked the fingers of his right hand. Scorpius obeyed and Al could look straight into his opening.

One finger in and Malfoy moaned loudly. Al closed his mouth around his boyfriend's erection.

Two fingers in and Scorpius had to grab hold of Al's head.

Three fingers in and Albus could hear his lover's heartbeats.

Or was it footsteps?

"Lily, don't go in there!" a voice said.

The door opened, and Al stared into his little sister's eyes as his mouth filled with Scorpius' seed.


	23. Chapter 23

**The Opening Ceremony**

Rose held Lily's arms as the younger girl kicked and screamed. She didn't calm down before Al yelled at her to shut up. Tears streamed down Lily's cheeks, but at least she was finally quiet.

"Look, Lily..." Al began. "I'm really, really sorry."

"Perhaps we should let the two of you talk," Rose suggested and dragged Malfoy out of the room.

Albus made Lily sit down beside him on his bed and laid an arm around her shoulder.

"Are you okay?" she asked and looked him in the eyes. Al only nodded, not quite sure why _she_ was concerned about _him_. "But Malfoy forced you to do nasty things! He was holding you down. Why didn't you fight back?"

Ah! Lily thought that Malfoy had assaulted Albus and forced him to suck his cock. A tiny part of Albus wanted to laugh at the thought.

"No, Lily," he explained. "You see, Malfoy and I..."

What was he saying? Was Al really telling his little sister about his gay relationship with the boy who was known to be his worst enemy?

"Scorpius is my boyfriend." Yes. He said it.

Lily was totally quiet as this knew information reached the inner parts of her brain. Albus saw the change in her expression as she realized the truth in his words.

"So that's why you never wanted to practice Quidditch with us this summer!" she declared cheerfully as she grabbed Al's face with both hands and pressed his forehead hard against her own. "You've been deceiving us, you bloody liar! James will be so disappointed in you," she threatened and grinned mischievously.

"Don't tell James!" Al cried. That was the worst thing that could possibly happen!

"Of course I won't. You'll tell him yourself."

"No way!"

"Come on, Al. You can't keep it secret forever. Anyway, lock the door next time," Lily said and left.

Albus laid back on his bed and hid under a pillow. Why did that have to happen? Why hadn't they locked the door? And what was Lily doing here? To think that the two girls he loved the most in the entire world saw him giving Malfoy a blowjob was just... Al just wanted to disappear and never have to face them again. How embarrassing!

A soft hand touched his belly.

"Sorry, Al," Scorpius said. "This was my fault."

"No, it's fine," Al replied. "We'll be more careful next time."

"Yes. Let's go somewhere no one can find us."

* * *

><p>That evening there was an opening ceremony. Everyone in the tournament were gathered in Tormundsheim's Great Hall. The Hall was an enormous cave in the mountain, but it was warm and bright inside.<p>

The Headmistress of Tormundsheim wished them all welcome to their school in Norway and told them about the rules of the tournament. Each Monday was to be the competition days so that everyone could use the weekend to prepare. The tasks would be announced each Friday evening, and each Saturday there would be arranged social activities.

"During the tournament you will compete in teams, and sometimes alone on behalf of your team or your school. Each time you or your team wins your school gains points. Tougher task gives more points, and in the end we will have one winning school. You will also compete against each other in a huge Quidditch tournament where each school will participate with one team. The matches will be held on Thursdays, starting with Hogwarts against California Wizards' High three and a half week from now."

Al looked to James with excitement, hoping that they would do well. Quidditch was the Potters' favourite hobby after all.

"The first ordinary task however is already tomorrow, with a Monday Morning Warm Up Quiz. This will just be general knowledge, so you won't need to study or prepare for it. Good luck, and enjoy the rest of your evening."

The Great Hall filled with music, and chairs and tables were cleared away to make a dance floor. Snacks and drinks were served from silver trays that floated around in the air.

Al tried to have a conversation with Rose, but she didn't seem to listen. She was staring at the air in front of her, or perhaps at something far away.

"Rose, are you listening?"

"Sorry, no," she said and grinned before someone grabbed her arm and dragged her away. Albus recognized Eirian's long, black hair as she took his cousin across the floor over to Karen, the Danish girl who had showed them to the fifth year's dorms.

Al wanted to follow them to hear what was going on, but Tyler Long got in the way.

"Potter," he said cheerfully. "Wanna dance?"

"What? No," Al replied perplexed. Why would he dance with a bloke? Or rather, why would Tyler think that Al wanted to dance with a guy?

"Why not?" Tyler said with a disappointed expression. "Aren't you gay?"

"What makes you think that I am?"

Al started to panic – again. How could Tyler _know_? Hadn't they been careful enough around the Canadian boy?

"The way you're looking at Malfoy when he's changing clothes made me think that maybe you liked boys. And I like to think that I have a good gay-dar."

"A what?"

"Nevermind... It's just that I'm usually not rejected by the boys I ask out," Tyler said and smirked.

"Are you gay?" Al wondered.

Tyler gazed deep into Albus' eyes for a long time and nodded. "Definitely."

Al shied away and met Scorpius' gaze from a few meters away. Malfoy scowled and looked away.

Al turned around and headed out to get some fresh air. He must have taken a wrong door or something, because he couldn't find the exit and didn't recognize the corridor he was in. Someone was following him, and Al turned around and saw that it was his boyfriend.

"Scorpius," Albus whispered desperately. "Tyler knows! He knows that I'm gay."

"Shh..." Scorpius said and opened a door Al hadn't seen. They went inside and found themselves in a small storage room with boxes stacked to the ceiling along all four walls.

"Scorpius, I've been thinking about something."

"Yes?" There was hardly enough room for the both of them, so they were pressed together chest to chest. Al could hear Malfoy's steady breathing and feel something that could only be a massive boner.

"Maybe we should stop keeping this secret."

"No," Scorpius pleaded. "Father would kill me. Please, Al, I can't tell him. He's the only real family I have now."

"Okay," Al said. "I was just thinking about it."

"Let's keep it like this for now," Scorpius whispered and kissed Al with wet, warm lips. They snogged hard and passionately and rubbed their groins against each other as much as the crowded storage room would allow until they both came in their pants.

As they were catching their breaths they heard footsteps in the corridor. _Oh no,_ Al thought. _Not again!_

"Did you lock the door?" Scorpius asked quietly. Al shook his head.

Seriously, were they to be busted twice in one day? Yes, they were, Al realized as the door slowly opened. The one who was walking in on them this time was Tyler Long.

His cheeks were red with heat, and turned even redder as he saw the two boys behind the door. It took a few seconds before he composed himself and smirked – just like he had smirked earlier.

"I knew it, Potter. I knew it. I think the three of us should talk."

They went to the bedroom they shared in the fifth years' building.

"Let me see if I've got this right," Tyler Long started. "Your fathers hate each other – or at least they did when they went to Hogwarts – and therefore you have to hate each other as well. However, when you had to live together you became friends, but because of past enmity you keep it secret. Then you fell in love, and now you hide the fact that you're boyfriends from both friends and family."

"That's correct."

"That's stupid," Tyler said. "You're both bloody idiots. I know that it's not easy to break the news about being gay to your parents, but you're not even open about your friendship. Why can't you just let people know?"

Al shrugged and Scorpius sighed. "Father would kill me if he knew."

"Are you sure, Malfoy. Doesn't he love you?"

That made Scorpius really quiet, and Al could almost see his brain working as he tried to decide whether or not his father loved him.

"Maybe I should tell him," Scorpius said after a while. "But I don't want him to hear it from someone else, so we've got to keep it a secret for now."

The three boys left it at that and started to talk about the tournament instead. Tyler hoped that the next tasks would be more interesting to watch than a quiz. Al hoped that he would know at least some of the answers. Rose was probably studying right now, reading encyclopedias or something like that.

"We should probably go to bed," Scorpius suggested. "We have to win that quiz tomorrow, and I can't think clearly if I'm tired."

Al hadn't noticed how tired he was until now. It had been a long day and his secret had been spilled twice, but Al was actually a bit relieved. Lily and Tyler wouldn't tell anyone. He even dared to give his boyfriend a good night kiss before he went to sleep. Al closed his eyes and dreamed about a world were it was okay for Malfoys and Potters to be friends, and where boys normally dated other boys. It was a good dream.


	24. Chapter 24

**A terrible accident**

The Monday Morning Warm Up Quiz was quite easy. Most of the questions were about famous witches and wizards, history and simple charms, but a few questions were really tricky and it was only Rose who knew the answers to those. Thanks to her their team won and Hogwarts got ten points.

The next two weeks passed smoothly as well, and Hogwarts was number two in the tournament, after Beauxbatons. However, Al hoped sort that out by winning the first Quidditch match. He had been chosen as their school team's Seeker, and was very excited about playing with his family for once, instead of competing against them.

James was their team's captain and Keeper. Their cousin Louis played Chaser, and so did two Ravenclaw girls from the year above Al. The Beaters were both Slytherins; Adam Sherwood and Susan Holzman.

They had a very good team; Adam and Susan were best friends and had played together on the Slytherin Team for many years. One of the Ravenclaw girls planned to become a professional Quidditch player, and the other one was Olivia Wood, daughter of the famous Keeper Oliver Wood.

They practised two nights each week before the match, and found that they worked together almost perfectly. The biggest difficulty was the cold and the snow, but that was just as bad for the Californian students.

"Okay, guys," James said. They were in the changing rooms, waiting to head out to the Quidditch field for their first match. "We have ten minutes to prepare now. I want everyone to think through the moves we've practised, think about something you like or whatever puts you in the right mood for a game of Quidditch. The American team is good, but we're better, and I've been told that we have special guests in the audience today. Harry and Ginny Potter is here today, along with the entire Weasley family. Albus, Louis; they're here to see us. Olivia, your father is here, and I know the rest of you also have friends and family watching. They have travelled all the way to this cold winter country to see us play. Are you ready to give them all the show of their lives?"

They shouted in unison: "Yes!"

"Remember what I told you," James said. "The Americans are good, but..."

"We're better!"

"They're good!" James repeated.

"We're better!" the team answered.

"They're good!"

"WE'RE BETTER!"

Al shouted till his throat was sore. He had never felt this pumped up before.

"Let's go get them," Louis said.

"Let's show them," Adam Sherwood replied, and they all went out to face the cheering crowds.

The first thirty minutes went great, and Hogwarts scored twice. Al evaluated the Californian Seeker as they floated around looking for the golden Snitch. He was tall, and muscular and had a fast broom; but he lacked Al's agility and control in the air. An easy match for Albus Potter.

Forty minutes passed before Al spotted the Snitch. He chased it around, dangerously near the audience. He saw Scorpius sitting beside his father. He passed his own family and their cheering gave him an extra adrenalin kick before he finally reached out and caught the tiny golden ball in his hand.

Through the loud cheers that followed Al heard a girl's voice behind him screaming. He turned around and saw a Bludger racing towards the crowds at full speed. The screaming girl was the only one who'd seen it; everyone else was laughing and hugging each other in celebration.

Al reached out for his wand, but it was no use. He was too far away, and far too late. The Bludger crashed into a boy's chest and ricocheted to punch him in the jaw before anyone managed to stop it.

There was blood everywhere, all was chaos, and Al realized that this was not just _some boy_. His long hair was red with blood, and his face was smashed beyond recognition, but Al knew that the person leaning over him was Draco Malfoy. Horrified, he realized that the injured boy was Scorpius.

Al was paralysed; frozen solid in the air. He could only watch as Mr. Malfoy started with first aid healing charms. Someone started to guide people away from the scene to give room for those who could help. A medic appeared along with Professor Longbottom and Professor Twinkle. Warm tears were streaming down Al's cheeks.

A silver otter showed up right in front of him.

"Albus," it said with Hermione's voice. "Fly over here and take me to the injured boy. I can help him."

Of course. Aunt Hermione always knew what to do in emergency situations. Shaking with fear and with tears freezing on his cheeks, Al followed the patronus to his family. His aunt climbed onto his broom and they raced over to Scorpius as fast as they could.

"Well done, Al," she said when they landed. "Now I need you to fly back to your father."

Albus obeyed. He couldn't think any more, he just acted on autopilot.

"Al," his father said calmly and laid an arm around him. "Come here."

They walked – Al couldn't tell for how long or how far they went, because everything was blurred together. Time and space meant nothing now; the only thing that made sense was the warmth that radiated from Harry and the strong arm around Al's shoulders.

When they finally were alone, Al allowed himself to cry. There was no use fighting the sobs, and Harry pulled his son closer into a comforting hug. The tears seemed to never end; Al had never believed that there could be that much water inside a human being.

After a long, long time, Albus started to calm down a little, and Harry pulled away to look into his son's eyes.

"What is it that you want to tell me, Al?"

He never asked if Al actually had something he wanted to tell. Harry knew that Al was hiding something. It was very obvious, of course. Why would he be this upset if he didn't care for Scorpius?

"It will be so much easier if you tell me, Albus."

"But you know, don't you?" Al sobbed.

"Yes, I think I know."

"Did Lily tell you? Or Rose?"

"I've known you for almost sixteen years," Harry said. "I understand you much better than you think. Perhaps you will start with telling me who your friend 'Syd' really is?"

Al had to smile a little at that. Had it really been that obvious? He was a very bad liar, but he had thought that he had fooled his parents this summer when he said that he was meeting Syd.

"Syd is Scorpius Malfoy," Al said. It was easier than he had feared. "And he's not just my friend."

The next part was worse, but Al closed his eyes and breathed in deeply.

"Dad," he started. "I'm... I like boys. And I've been in love with Scorpius for two years. He's my boyfriend."

That had to be enough for now. Al's eyes filled with tears again as he remembered the state Scorpius was in now. He didn't dare to look at his father.

"I'm really sorry, dad," he sniffed. "You must be so disappointed."

"Albus Severus Potter. Look at me. You are my son, and you are the dearest I have. You, James and Lily. I couldn't be more proud of you. You are a smart, hard working, brave young man. You have done so many things that I could never have managed when I was your age. You dared to let the Hat put you in Slytherin, and you became friends with a boy you thought you were supposed to hate, and you dared to tell me that you're into boys. How could I be anything but proud? All I wish for is that we can be honest with each other. Right?"

Al nodded and dried away the tears with the back of his hand.

"Does mum know as well?"

"She thinks that 'Syd' is your girlfriend. You should tell her the truth, though. She deserves to know, don't you think?"

"Yes," Al said. "Do you think Scorpius will be okay?"

"Of course," Harry replied confidently. "Hermione is with him."

Al let that thought comfort him and went to tell his mother everything.

* * *

><p><em><strong>AN: I feel very bad for doing this to Scorpius... **_**=C****  
><strong>


	25. Chapter 25

**A Visit and a Party**

Albus, Rose and the other fifth years from Hogwarts were having Potion class with Professor Twinkle. She was teaching both Charms and Potions now when they were at Tormundsheim, while Professor Longbottom taught Herbology and Defence Against the Dark Arts. Most of the students couldn't believe that Longbottom knew anything about the former subject, but Al had heard thousands of stories from his parents about their friend Neville's brave deeds during the war.

"It is very important that you cut the rat tails in two pieces when you make this potion. Can anyone tell me why that is?" Twinkle asked.

Al didn't remember if he knew the answer to that question, and when Rose raised her hand he had forgotten what the question was. He was such a wreck these days.

They had cancelled the competition that Monday. Scorpius was still at St. Mungo's, and Al didn't know anything about his condition. The Bludger that hit Scorpius had been sent by a furious Californian Beater. The Beater claimed that he meant to aim at Albus, but he was expelled from the tournament anyway.

Three sharp knocks on the door interrupted the lesson. It was Al's father who'd come to take him away. They went out of the building and into the teachers' house. Harry led the way into a huge living room. Strangely enough the living room was furnished in a very modern fashion. The old, original building looked like a new designer house on the inside.

"We're allowed to use this fireplace to go home," Harry said and gave Al some Floo Powder.

They met in their own living room a moment later.

"Go change out of your school uniform, Al. We're going to St. Mungo's."

"Is he okay?" Albus asked at once. He couldn't think about anything else at the moment.

"I don't know, but I believe he is. I received an owl from Scorpius' father saying that he's gained consciousness. He's asked for you."

Al ran to his room as fast as he could and opened his wardrobe. He found a pair of jeans and a black button-up shirt. He looked himself in the mirror and was horrified. There were dark rings under his eyes, and his hair looked like a mess.

"Dad," he shouted. "I'll take a bath first!"

"Good idea! You need it! We're not allowed to visit him before four thirty anyway!" was the answer that came from four floors below.

It was only eleven thirty, so Al took his time getting ready. Harry used an ironing-charm on the shirt and then they were good to go.

Harry Apparated them to Diagon Alley, and then they had lunch in a Muggle café. They still had hours left, so they walked around in London. Al had a great time, actually. It started to rain, so they both bought a new raincoat. Al picked a plain black coat, but his father chose a big yellow one. They went to Al's favourite bookshop and found a present for Scorpius before they finally could visit him at the hospital.

Draco Malfoy was waiting for them in the reception. Scorpius' room was on the ground floor.

"Score," the eldest Malfoy said with a soft, tender voice before he entered the room. "You have a visitor. We'll leave the two of you alone."

Scorpius was resting in his bed with his back leaning on a pile of soft, white pillows. His head was covered in bandages, and Al could see that the jaw was swollen underneath the compresses.

He still smiled, though. A beautiful, pale smile that made Al's heart melt like a wax candle.

"Albus," he said hoarsely.

Al hurried over to the hospital bed and sat down in a chair beside it.

"Kiss me, Al," Scorpius pleaded.

"I don't dare. I don't want to hurt you, or make your injuries worse."

"Do it anyway. Please, even if it does hurt. Your kisses are worth a little pain."

Al rose to his feet and leaned over his boyfriend. He slid one hand around the back of Scorpius' neck and pulled him closer; carefully until their lips met. The kiss was so gentle and soft that Al wondered if it even counted as a kiss. They pulled away and gazed into each other's eyes.

"Al, will you remove some of these pillows? I want to lie down."

"Sure," Al replied and did as he was asked.

"Lie down next to me."

There was just enough space for the two of them on the bed. Al had to lie on his side with his arm wrapped around his boyfriend's torso. He left a trail of kisses down Scorpius' neck, opened a few buttons of the hospital shirt and moved his lips further down to the collarbone. Then he opened the rest of the buttons to reveal the pale skin of Malfoy's chest.

What he found came as a huge shock. Al had forgotten about how the Bludger had hit Scorpius in the chest first, but now he could see the evidence very clearly.

"Oh, fuck! Merlin's beard, Scorpius! Are you really okay?"

"I'm fine," Scorpius reassured. "They've fixed me up on the inside, so it's just a bruise."

"Just a bruise? It's huge!"

The bruise was enormous and covered most of the left side of Malfoy's upper body. The usually pale chest was now as colourful as the rainbow; blue, purple, red, green and yellow.

"Yeah, it's quite big, but they gave me a Soothing Potion to rub on. It takes away much of the pain."

"Where is it? I'll rub some on for you."

"Thanks," Scorpius said and smiled. "It's in the top drawer over there."

Al found the potion and applied it gently to Scorpius' blue chest. When he was finished he started to trace his fingers up to one of the small, pink nipples. He toyed carefully with it until Malfoy started to breath heavier.

"Mmh…" he moaned.

"Do you think I could make you come just from touching your nipples like this?" Al asked.

"You could probably make me come just by looking at me. I want you so badly."

"We should wait with such things till you're better, baby."

"I know. As soon as I'm out of here, though… I hope it won't be too long."

"I'm sure it won't," Al reassured.

They snuggled together and fell asleep; and that's how their fathers found them an hour later.

* * *

><p>When Scorpius returned to Tormundsheim a few days later the Scandinavian fifth year students threw a party in the living room.<p>

Al stood by the fire-place with Rose and watched as everyone gathered around his boyfriend.

"Have you had sex yet?" Rose asked bluntly.

"What?" Had he heard correctly over the music.

"I mean, have you ever gone all the way? The way that would get you pregnant if you were a girl."

"No, not yet. Wait, did you just suggest that _I_ would be receiving?"

Rose grinned mischievously and walked away to speak with her Danish friend Karen.

Albus considered going to his room and wait for Malfoy, because they hadn't greeted each other properly yet. He didn't need to, though. Suddenly Scoprpius was there next to him by the fireplace.

"Let's stop this secret-bullshit," Scorpius said. "I'm tired of pretending."

"You can't keep your eyes and hands off me you mean," Al said and grinned.

Scorpius wrapped his arms around Albus and kissed him softly. Al got goosebumps and felt everyone's eyes on him. "Let's go somewhere private."

They went to their room, and locked the door properly this time. They undressed each other quickly and sat down on Al's bed. Scorpius' kisses were warm and wet, and his long fingers felt cold against Al's skin.

Al hardened and knew that nothing could compare to the sensation of Malfoy's erection touching his. He pushed his boyfriend down and leaned over him, but couldn't bring himself to lie down. Scorpius had just returned from the hospital after all.

Instead Al turned them around so that he was on his back, with the pale, blond beauty on top. He licked two fingers and slid them inside his boyfriend's opening. Scorpius kissed and moaned until Al pushed him into a sitting position.

Malfoy took the hint soon enough and lifted his weight away from Al's pelvis. Al used one hand to guide his erection towards the hole in his boyfriend's butt, and the other to play with Scorpius' cock. Entering Scorpius Malfoy was like nothing Al had ever felt before. Their bodies were as one, and Al knew that he could take no more. He came inside his boyfriend before he got the chance to pull out, and in return Scorpius exploded all over Al's chest. They laughed and kissed and snuggled together for a while before they did it all over again.

* * *

><p><em><strong>AN: This will be the last chapter so far, I really hope you liked the story. **__**  
><strong>_

_**It won't be the last I write about these guys (I think), but it might take a while before I post anything new. Anyway, keep your eyes open for sequels and side-stories.  
><strong>_

_**eatmorecookies  
><strong>_


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